Sooner or Later
by And The Moment's Gone
Summary: It's entirely possible to forget you're playing the long game. Especially when the game board is always changing, and there are no written rules. (Or Josh learns to be an adult while Maya grows up).
1. Part I: Let's Talk About Sex

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,545  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Josh had discovered there are a few downsides to surpassing the age of majority. While it wasn't so apparent when he'd first hit 18, now that he was rounding on the downside of 20 he's starting to notice a few things. Such as the fact that he was now privy to what had previously been deemed 'adult conversation.'

"I think Maya's sleeping with Friar."

It's not the sentence in and of itself that's troublesome. It's more likely the fact that Shawn had pretty much made this announcement in the middle of a late dinner on a Friday night, while the teen in question was at the movies with the aforementioned cowboy, the week's football game called on account of the fact that it hadn't stopped raining since Monday. The good news was that her best friend wasn't present either, too busy at the Minkus residence prepping for the New York State Math League the next morning. Josh found himself relieved Auggie had chosen this evening to beg to be allowed to skip Riley's competition in favor of a long weekend at Dewy's.

There should have also be consideration given to the fact that Cory took in this information like a champ, swallowing his bite of meatloaf and taking a sip of his water entirely too calmly. He set his fork down gently and then turned to his best friend on the bench beside him. "That is ridiculous."

If Josh were a betting man, he would have said that his brother had -maybe- another five minutes in the current conversation before he stuck his fingers in his ears and _la la la_ 'd himself out of the room. Maybe.

But either Shawn didn't notice this, or he plainly didn't care because he took another sip of his beer and looked pointedly across the table to Topanga. "You don't live at my apartment."

Something could be said that Shawn didn't live at his apartment either, due to the fact that he's there for maybe two weeks out of the month between assignments. Since Katy got her first call back on an off-Broadway production of something or another, Shawn single-handedly picked up the slack that Maya's mother had left behind, making sure to uphold his Birthday promise that he wouldn't allow anyone to grow up the way that he did. When he wasn't traveling for the web magazine, he hung his hat in a spacious 2-bedroom loft in TriBeCa. Whether or not it was a conscious decision on anyone's part, Maya had more or less taken over the second bedroom; using it on weekends when her mother had long rehearsal days, or weeks when they were both gone for too long because his neighborhood felt safer than hers - and she liked the light better in his apartment for painting.

No one bothered to mention that if Maya was, in fact, sleeping with Lucas, there really wasn't anything anyone could do to stop her. Instead, Topanga watched her husband try to breathe and just shook her head. "State your case, counselor." Her tone took on a courtroom quality, and she folded her hands under her chin.

Cory smiled sharply, nodding his head towards his wife, as Shawn shook his again. "A fraction his wardrobe is in her closet." He said after a minute, "and she wears at least one article of his clothing on a daily basis."

"The same could be said for Riley." While she wasn't outright telling him he was seeing things, Josh could tell that Topanga was trying very hard not to. "Are you trying to tell me that Lucas is sleeping with her too?"

"He's not trying to tell you that." Cory practically shouted at no one in particular. "Please tell me that he's not trying to tell you that." Finally, he turned to his best friend. "You're not trying to tell her that are ya, Shawnie?"

A huff and a deep breath, and Shawn looked up at Topanga again. "Did you really have to get him started?"

"He was already started," she told him harshly. "I'm just allowing him an avenue to freak out with." A reassuring pat to her husband's shoulder and Topanga stood, collecting dinner plates. This was one of those conversations that needed coffee. Or wine.

There was a short lull in the conversation, as Topanga put the dishes in the sink, and Shawn steered Cory into the living room, where Josh thought he would be able to slip away to the guest room and pretend he had never been involved with this conversation. It lasted all of three seconds before reality came back to him.

"Can you grab your brother a beer, Josh? Before he hyperventilates."

He was on his feet without thinking, pulling open the door to the refrigerator and turning back to the living room. "You want another, Shawn?"

"Only if you guys are out of that burgundy we had last week."

While that didn't exactly answer Josh's question, the fact that Topanga muttered a quick 'I've got this," as she reached past him for a bottle of wine, and then pulled two glasses out of the cabinet was enough. Assuming for a second that the reason they were having this conversation in front of him meant that the usual rules of the house applied, Josh grabbed himself a Heineken, and made sure to pop the tops before following his sister-in-law to the couch. "I still haven't heard anything that sounds like actual evidence."

From his place on the couch, Cory smiled. It would have unnerved Josh if it weren't for the fact that Cory's hopeful naïveté was something that he had grown up with. The Matthews family actually seemed to cultivate it over the years.

"Look at my wife," he said after a moment, accepting the beer his brother offered with a nod of thanks. "Such a brilliant woman."

"Although," Topanga handed Shawn his wine glass with a curt smile, sitting in the chair to the other side of the coffee table. "If it's true, it could be a very smart decision on her part."

He didn't even look at her, choosing instead to hold his best friend's gaze. "She's an idiot savant!" Cory barked quickly. "What are ya tryin' to do to me?!" He finally whipped his head around, and Josh could see a full-blown rant bubbling up.

The pillow flew past Josh's head before he really had time to register that Topanga threw it. "Oh, will you calm down?" She all but shouted. Then she turned to Shawn. "She's a seventeen-year-old girl who has more or less had to raise herself. Of course there are going to be certain areas that she's going to want to explore long before any of us are ready for that." When Shawn opened his mouth to respond, Topanga held up a finger. "And before you get all defensive, Mr. Hunter, do we need to bring up how old you were when you started experimenting sexually?"

As Shawn started to sputter, Josh raised his hand slightly. "Can we never utter that sentence again? Please?" His brother clutched the pillow to his chest and nodded emphatically.

"My point here is that Maya is a cautious person when it comes to relationships to begin with. She's only had one relationship that lasted more than a month in her entire high school career." Briefly Josh was reminded of Kelly, the football player that pretended he was a hipster. Maya had broken up with him shortly before Christmas her freshman year because when pressuring her to sleep with him failed, he decided to take comfort in half the ladies lacrosse team. He'd never been happier to hear that Lucas had been suspended for three days for punching that little asshole out. Apparently Shawn remembered it as well, nodding slowly along with Topanga's logic. "And she's not stupid. She knows all about protecting herself and preventing pregnancy."

Both girls had been given the very same talk when their permission slips were signed and they were on their way to beginning sex ed. Cory had had an impassioned speech about the way things worked, including a very elaborate diagram on how the only things you got out of sex was children, STDs, and death. After Topanga had managed to extradite both girls -and no, Josh wasn't going to admit that he eavesdropped on the ever-so-sacred bay window time to learn this- Shawn had managed to get a hold of Maya and have a discussion of his own, including the promise to make her a clinic appointment if she wanted one, and a conversation on condoms (because "you're a stupid kid, but you aren't that stupid").

As much as he hated the fact that these were all things that he hadn't actually thought about before he decided to broach this subject with his best friend, Shawn was kind of glad that Topanga was being logical about the whole situation. "But," he added with a grumble. "Lucas Friar?"

"And what's wrong with Lucas?" Topanga poured more wine into both glasses before taking a long sip. "He's a straight A student, a National Honor Society member, " at this point Topanga had set her glass down to tick his qualities off on her fingers. "He's been shortlisted for early acceptance to Cornell, he treats both Maya and Riley like princesses, and he loves his mother." The last one was said as more of an afterthought, and Josh got a stern look as he snorted. "And you like Lucas."

"Not if he's sleeping with Maya." Shawn pushed himself off of the couch and moved to pace behind it. "He was Riley's first boyfriend, so we know how this is gonna go if Riley finds out about this." He shoved a hand into his hair, and for a brief moment, Josh wondered if his parents had ever had discussions like this. "And what happens if they're not as careful as they think they're being, or Maya actually falls for him, and he finds someone else?" He stopped abruptly and suddenly seemed to realize that he was still holding his wine glass. "He's going to Cornell in the fall, and the only schools Maya's applied to are here and in Philly! One way or another, she's going to get hurt."

"Just because I'm curious," Josh started slowly, sitting back and watching Topanga smile enigmatically at Shawn and Cory's mounting excitement. There was a few seconds pause before both men turned to look at him. "Are we righteously disgruntled because Maya's having sex or is it because it's Friar and could end badly?" Topanga's smile got wider, which seemed to tip him off that he was on the right track. "Because I don't think it really matters who she's sleeping with. I don't think the risk diminishes just because it's not a friend."

"You're on _her_ side!" Cory spat at him, and Josh had to get up from his seat in order to avoid being bashed with the throw pillow.

Topanga held her hand out for him to move over to her chair, and Josh wasn't embarrassed to admit that he did as directed. "He has a point." She shifted in her chair and held her hand up to prevent Cory from trying to hit her. "Choosing someone like Lucas is probably safer for her."

Shawn had stopped his pacing, looking to Topanga in furious wonder. "No." He decided quickly. "Not, it's not."

"He knows her." She stood up, this time to reach Shawn on his level. "He understands the way she is, and she feels safe with him. So it makes sense that she would trust him enough with this." When he turned, Topanga put her hand on his shoulder. "And face it, if you hadn't found, whatever it is that you found to make you suspicious, you wouldn't have even known something was happening."

He didn't want to admit that she was right. And Shawn absolutely did not want to admit that out loud. "It was a condom wrapper," he said after a moment. "I came back from Thailand and there was a pair of sweatpants in her dirty laundry that had a condom wrapper in the pocket."

Josh watched as Topanga had to resist the urge to point out that she was right, and Maya was being careful.

Shawn sputtered for another minute before launching himself over the couch like a teenager, landing next to his best friend. "I just hate it! Okay?!"

"And you're allowed." Topanga set the wine glass she had snagged right before Shawn had gone over the couch on the kitchen table. She dropped herself on the coffee table in front of both men with a frown. "Being a parent is tough. Even if they're not your kid."

Josh allowed himself to finally stand and collect the empty beer bottles. "And bright side," he added, moving to the table. "You've done a pretty good job of it so far."

It was like a light bulb turned on, and two of the three people in the room suddenly remembered that not only was Josh in the room, but he was considerably younger than anyone else. Shawn looked like he was about to apologize for bringing him into his first adult conversation.

"Shawnie?" Cory held his wife's hands in his as he looked to his best friend. "Needless to say, I'm a little upset."

Shawn smiled and reached around to clap him on the shoulder. "You're always upset, Cor."

Both Matthews nodded, and Cory dropped his head to Shawn's shoulder. "Well, more than usual."

The front door opened with a shove, and Lucas Friar took two steps in before he had to steady himself, Maya wiggling on his back. "You've had entirely too much popcorn, Shortstack," he grumbled as he readjusted her position before standing upright again. All three adults turned as he pushed himself off from the wall and walked the three feet to the chair before releasing her legs and tilting himself backward so she dropped neatly onto the plush surface. "Next time, you're walking home."

"You said that last time." Maya reminded him, toeing off her ballet flats and sliding to her left so he could perch himself onto the arm of the chair. "And yet, here we are."

Lucas watched her out of the corner of his eye, oblivious to the stares from three out of the four adults in the room. "That's because I was raised to be a gentleman." He scratched the back of his neck even as he turned more fully to her. "I can never resist helping out a damsel in distress."

It was his Texas twang that got her, more than the traditional tipping of the hat. Maya snorted and turned in the chair, maneuvering herself so her feet were in Lucas's lap. "If that's what you need to tell yourself." She paused then; finally noticing all eyes on her, but didn't change her position. "You guys said to come home right after." She grabbed for Lucas's arm - more specifically his watch, and he didn't even bother to grumble as she forced his wrist into a position to better see the dial. "It's not even ten, we can't be late."

"You're not," Shawn said after a second. "You're actually earlier than expected."

"Score one for me." Maya dropped his arm then and pulled herself to her feet to rid herself of her jacket. She then promptly dropped herself back into the chair.

Josh chuckled as he resumed his trek to the recycling bin. While he wasn't about to say it out loud, but now that it had been pointed out, Maya did seem to be more physically comfortable with Lucas than usual. He dropped the bottles, probably louder than he should have, and absently grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge on his way back into the room. "How was the movie?"

"Not bad"

"Could have been worse."

It only took a second for Josh to notice that Lucas had been far more interested in whatever they'd gone to see than Maya had. But it had been a Friday night with no football, no homework, and no best friend, so when Maya had gotten the invite for a free flick, she hadn't didn't mind so much that it wasn't one of her choice.

"You went to see the new Spiderman movie, didn't you?" Releasing her husband, Topanga delicately stole the throw pillow he was clutching out of his hands and dropped it back into place beside him. "You didn't like it?"

Maya and Lucas opened their mouths to speak at the same time. Again. Thankfully the older of the two noticed this and closed his mouth as Maya geared herself up for her answer.

"They've had 3 reboots in 15 years," she grunted, accepting Josh's offer of water. "And I honestly didn't think the last one deserved a sequel." She took a quick sip and then patted Lucas's leg. "I'm still not sure we needed to see this one. No offense."

"It wasn't that bad." Lucas ruffled her hair as he double-checked his watch, "At least you got free popcorn."

"I also ate most of your Snowcaps." No one was surprised that Maya was unashamed.

When he stood, he twisted Maya slightly so he could extradite the arm that had wound up behind her. "On that note," he readjusted his jacket and bent to bump his chin with Maya's forehead. "I promised my Mama I would be home by ten thirty."

"Do you need a ride?" Shawn asked dumbly, moving to his feet. Maya watched Lucas try to shrug him off with a smile. "Or train fare?"

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, and double-checking that Maya hadn't lifted his wallet, Lucas shook his head. "I'm only going up to Gramercy, sir." Pulling the wallet out, Lucas pulled his regular Metrocard out from behind his school issued one. "It's a pretty straight shot." As an afterthought, he looked over to Maya. "You want me to take you home first?"

"Totally unnecessary, Cowboy." She looked over to Shawn slowly. "It's still okay if I crash here, right?"

Topanga's line from earlier struck Josh then, being a parent was tough. "Your mom say it's okay?"

Maya nodded, digging her phone out of her pocket. "She's filming that bit part on the cop pilot." She huffed slightly. "She told me I was good last week, and I texted to remind her where I was gonna be earlier."

He wanted to point out that 17-year-old Maya was far more considerate to her parent and/or guardian than he was at her age. Then again, 17-year-old Shawn didn't really have that many people to be considerate toward. "Then I don't see why not." He took a second to look over her outfit. "You have something to wear tomorrow?"

The noise that came out of Maya's mouth could not be classified as human. "I'm sure I can find something." Josh could have sworn that he heard Topanga stress that she could handle that part.

"Okay." Shawn reached for his jacket, and Josh noted that he pulled Cory's off the hook as well. "I'm taking your husband for a beer," he told Topanga shortly.

Remembering the conversation Maya had walked in on; Josh fully understood when Topanga waved them off. "Riley has to be at Léman Manhattan Prep at nine," she reminded both men. "Competition starts at ten."

"And someone will be buying me coffee between those two times," Maya interjected helpfully.

"Call me if you decide to crash at Shawn's." Topanga kissed her husband gently and then pulled Shawn into a hug. "Everything will be okay," she whispered to the older man.

Shawn nodded carefully. "Thanks." When his coat was firmly in place, he leaned down and kissed the top of Maya's head. "I'll swing by Everyman on my way in the morning and grab you a Macchiato if you promise not to drive anyone crazy until I get there."

"I'll consider it." Maya returned with a smile. "See ya tomorrow, Shawn."

"Night kiddo." He looked across the living room. "Josh."

The door shut, and Topanga leaned against it with a thump. "Well," she exclaimed softly. "That was fun." Both kids raised an eyebrow at her, and she just shrugged. "I have a deposition to earmark before Monday, so I'm actually going to get started on that." She started to remind Maya that leftovers were in the fridge and that she was allowed to help herself, before remembering exactly who she was speaking to.

"Good night Mrs. Matthews." Maya slid from the chair to the sofa without actually standing up.

"Good night sweetie." And then, as an afterthought, "If you feel like just staying here Josh, I'm sure you've left something in the guest room that was washed."

Josh didn't even have time to assure Topanga that he would manage before she was gone. Grabbing a bag of chips off of the counter, Josh dropped down on the couch beside Maya, not bothering to curse the fact that she had found the remote first.

"So," she started, flipping past BBCAmerica before returning to it. "What'd you do tonight?"

Josh just smiled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."


	2. Part II: On Homecoming Dresses

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,849  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: "It took a second before Josh stepped up. "I overheard them talking about Homecoming," he admitted. "And when Maya said she wasn't going, I kind of goaded her into telling everyone that she didn't have a dress or a hair appointment."

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

"Aren't you supposed to be going with the head cheerleader or something anyway?"

It was at that specific moment that Josh realized two very important things. The first was that between his classes, internship, and his limited social life, he was spending a surprisingly large amount of time eating out of his brother's fridge. This realization didn't particularly bother him, after all, the less money he had to put onto his dining hall card the better - and sometimes Topanga had even been known to pack him a lunch/dinner for the days he was at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill too long.

The other thing that he noticed was apparently none of Riley's friends ever went home.

Which was why in the middle of a Monday afternoon, Josh got to be privy to Lucas, Riley, Maya and Farkle's plans for whatever school event was coming up next as they worked on homework in various positions around the Matthews' living room.

"No," Lucas said shortly. He tore another page out of his notebook and had to physically resist the urge to launch it across the room at the tiny blonde stretched out on the couch. "Because I'm really not in the mood for our entire class to think that I'm sleeping with Missy Bradford."

The fact that he couldn't have been sleeping with Missy, due in large part to the fact that he was still more or less in a friends-with-benefits situation with her, seemed to be more implied than he would have wanted. Riley peered over the edge of her reading glasses at the two, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Farkle just shook his head.

"You're a little late to that meeting, Sundance." Maya flicked her eraser at him before nudging Riley with her foot so she could be passed a new one. "They already think you've slept with Missy." When Lucas opened his mouth to argue with her, she flicked the newest pencil top eraser at him too. "She's cheer captain, you're the star quarterback, and it was kind of assumed after Missy's first house party."

There was only so much that Lucas could grunt and gesticulate that while there had definitely been some semi-drunken groping, he had most defiantly not slept with Missy.

Not that Maya was paying him a bit of attention as she stayed on her tangent. "But, like most high school seniors in America, with college acceptance letters looming, midterms, and senioritis," she took a breath and Riley just handed her another eraser. "They've already moved on." Breath released, Maya looked back down at her Intro to Calculus textbook and damn near growled. "There's also the overlooked fact that I'm not going to Homecoming," she let slip off-handedly, causing Riley's eyes to bug and physically set down her History workbook down onto the coffee table. "Ergo, I cannot attend said function with you."

Josh couldn't help it. Putting down his sandwich, he actually turned around to look at the teenagers. "You're not going to Homecoming?"

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus, not you too!" Maya slammed her textbook into her forehead a few times before dropping it back into her lap. "It's not really that big of a deal."

So apparently this had been an ongoing thing. Briefly, Josh wondered how long Maya had been trying to put off this conversation. "It's Homecoming," Josh told her shortly. "Your senior year of high school." It actually reminded him to call his mom and see if she could tell him when the Homecoming game at his own school was. He hadn't seen his friends in Philly in entirely too long. "It's kind of a big deal."

Riley pounced, metaphorically speaking of course. "It's a right of passage," she started.

"Don't give me that." Maya snapped her book closed, notebook still inside. "I went last year, remember?" And Riley tried very hard not to flinch. Smackle's grandmother had died the weekend before, so Riley had wound up going with Farkle while Maya had to find a new date. "The only right of passage that I got from that one was my date getting drunk before the dance and me kicking his ass when he decided to grope me in the hallway on my way to the bathroom." Christopher had been an idiot, apologetic after he sobered up, but still an idiot. She had more or less forgiven him; after all, he had volunteered himself for suspension the next morning when he had been told what he had done.

"So you're going to let one bad experience dictate your senior year?" Josh was standing now, and Riley's eyes cut to him quickly. "Are you _that_ girl?"

And normally that would probably have sealed that she was going. To challenge Maya Hart's mettle was to lose, in most cases. But there was more than one entity at work here. "Even if I was _that_ _girl_ ," she growled the last part of the sentence, shifting her eyes from friend to friend. She deliberately skipped over Josh, and when her eyes met his, he knew that her revenge would be agonizing. "The dance is in five days, and not only is there no hairdresser on the whole of the island that will be able to fit me in, but I have no dress."

"My mother's hair dresser cleared out her schedule for Smackle's hair on Saturday," Farkle offered helpfully. He palmed his cell phone and sent a quick text to his father. "I don't think she'll have a problem adding one more to her day."

"Hair's settled!" Riley squealed as calmly as possible. Her breathing got continually louder and she tried to hold it in. "Now we get to go shopping for a dress!"

Her eyes rolled, and she wanted to figure out whether or not she could kill Josh with her brain. "No," she growled at her best friend. "We don't." She took a deep breath before shaking her head. "There's not exactly enough money in the Hart family slush fund for that kind of thing."

And suddenly Josh realized why he was such an ass. "Maya –"

"It's fine," she snapped.

Riley's face fell as she turned her entire attention to her best friend. "I thought things were better?"

"They are." Her mom's acting career had finally jump started, and been going rather decently. She was appearing on Off-Broadway stages more often than naught, and she had been in two more television shows since her bit part on the pilot she filmed at the beginning of the school year. And both she and her mother appreciated the fact that Katy was bringing home a steady paycheck doing it. The hours were hell though, and she had recently received a tentative offer from the traveling Aquila Theatre Company with a part in their production of Wuthering Heights. There were times when Maya felt like they may have moved forward, but they had also gone backward as well. "But 'yay we can pay our bills' money isn't quiet the same as 'let's buy Maya a new Homecoming dress' money."

Maya was trying very hard not to remind her friends that the only reason she had three formal dresses in her closet were because Shawn hadn't stopped offering his credit card up for frivolities. Which is why when he was sent over to Rome on a freelance job last month and hadn't been back, she didn't hesitate to bury all thoughts of Homecoming. She was honestly just planning on asking Topanga if she could pick up an extra shift at the café while everyone else was out.

"I've got a few things you might fit in," Riley offered up helpfully, pulling herself to her feet.

"We haven't shared more than tops in years, Riley." Maya dropped her book on the coffee table so she could reach her hand out to her friend. "There is no way that my five foot two frame is gonna fit in anything in your closet." And as much as she hated to say it, it was true. Throughout her entire high school career, Maya had only been able to add two and a half inches to her frame, while Riley had shot up to nearly six feet.

"You're right," Riley didn't sit back down, though. Instead, she moved closer to the edge of the couch. She looked to her uncle, who had started this whole mess, before taking a deep breath. "I cannot fix this." Maya was reaching for her textbook again, about to commend her best friend for her admission, when Riley let out a garish squeal. "Mommy!"

Homework completely abandoned now, Maya cursed as she leaped over the arm of the couch to clamp her hand on Riley's mouth. "What the hell, Riles?" It seemed that she had gotten to her too late. The door to Topanga's office opened and closed, and Josh watched as understanding blossomed over Maya's face. "Fuck," the blonde murmured, taking her hand away from her best friend. She took a step back and shook her head. "Really?"

"What's going on out here?" Topanga got a good look around the room and folded her arms against her chest. Josh was sitting at the kitchen table, his Urban Society textbook flipped open and a half eaten sandwich sitting on top of it. Sharing the table, and she used that term loosely, was Farkle. He had somehow managed to strew the contents of his messenger bag across most of the table, iPad included. Lucas had taken the chair on the far side of the room, _Steppenwolf_ hanging loosely from his fingers, and a highlighter between his teeth. It was pretty clear that Riley and Maya had been sharing the couch and coffee table, how exactly wasn't entirely clear, and both children were now standing in the open space between the couch and the table, Maya's hand still hanging in the air next to Riley's face. While it appeared to be a normal, it also meant there was no telling what could be wrong.

Riley looked from her mother to her best friend and then back again. "No," Maya growled at her best friend. " _Please_ leave it alone."

Topanga looked around the room again. "Honey, what's wrong."

Another deep breath and Riley just broke. "Lucas just asked Maya to go to Homecoming with him, and at first she just said no. But he was persistent and kept asking. And when she finally said that she wasn't going to Homecoming because she didn't have a ticket; but Lucas has two so it's not an issue. And again today, Lucas asked again. Maya said she still wasn't going, and Josh asked why not. It took a little while, and a lot of nudging before Maya finally told us that it was because she wasn't able to get a new dress, and she doesn't have many other dresses. And I can't fix that." There was a pause before she took another breath and turned fully to her mother. "Can you please help me fix that Mommy?"

"And all in one breath, too." Maya announced, dropping her hand in defeat before turning back to the couch.

Taking a step away from Riley, Topanga shook her head. "Okay…" She let the word hang before turning back to the room. "Can someone who is not my daughter give me the abridged version?"

It took a second before Josh stepped up. "I overheard them talking about Homecoming," he admitted. "And when Maya said she wasn't going, I kind of goaded her into telling everyone that she didn't have a dress or a hair appointment."

"So I offered up my mom's stylist," Farkle cut in.

Lucas dropped the highlighter from his mouth, "and Riley offered to go shopping with her-"

"Which led to Maya trying so very hard not to admit that the reason she doesn't have a dress is because it wasn't in the budget." Maya was desperately trying to hide her face in her book now, and Josh moved closer to the living room and nodded in her direction.

Topanga nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off of the blonde on the couch. "I see." And she did. The Matthews family had been helping Maya battle this particular stigma for as long as they had been aware of it. It had included everything from lunch and field trip money, to purchasing an extra plane ticket, so Maya could summer in Philly with Riley. Maya'd started to pay more attention to it over the last few years, deliberately not telling them about opportunities that she had that may require financial backing. Not that that had stopped them. It had actually gotten easier since Shawn had officially moved to town, slipping extra cash into Maya's wallet, replenishing art supplies, and sometimes just handing Maya one of his credit cards for special occasions. "And you didn't want her to tell me because…"

"Because it's not a big deal." With a huff and a thud, Maya threw her book back onto the coffee table. She had officially given up on studying for the evening. Her homework for the day was finished – thank you Riley for asking her to walk her home after a Homecoming Committee meeting – and at this point she was sure she wasn't going to get anything else done anyway. "It's just a dance." She watched as Josh and Riley opened their mouths at the same time. "Don't you two _even_ start."

Yeah, this was going to be more difficult than Topanga though. "Okay," she started, clapping her hands. "Here's how we're gonna solve this one." Everyone in the room held their breath while Maya rolled her eyes. First she turned to Josh. "What's your schedule like tomorrow afternoon?"

"My last class ends at four thirty, so I don't have to go to the office." He could already see the gears in his sister-in-law's head turning. "Whatcha need?"

"Auggie has Lego Club after school, do you think you could pick him up and bring him back here? Cor -"

Josh didn't even wait for her to finish her thought. "Definitely not a problem."

"What will you be doing Mommy?" Riley's eyes were wide.

"I will be taking Maya shopping." Topanga tone brooked no room for an argument.

It was a shame that the person they were talking about was still in the room. "No, you're not." Maya said quickly. "I'm supposed to be working tomorrow." She crossed her arms against her chest.

It was like she was arguing with Shawn, Topanga decided. She was officially arguing with 17-year-old Shawn Hunter all over again. The benefit of doing it at 36 was the added experience of already knowing the arguments that he had brooked over the years, and being able to preempt them.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, flipping through her contacts quickly before putting her phone to her ear. "Marcy? Hi! It's Topanga." She was looking directly at Maya now, daring her to say something. "Something's come up with Maya, and I was wondering if you would be okay taking her shift tomorrow?" Her lips quirked up, and she batted her eyes at the teen. "Oh, that is perfectly fine! You are more than welcome to bring Stewie. He can sit at the counter, and his afterschool snacks are on me. Thank you so much. Buh-Bye!"

Maya cursed again as Topanga clapped her phone between her hands. "Who needs a paycheck anyway?" She muttered to herself.

"Good." Tucking her phone back in her pocket, Topanga braced herself fro her daughter's hug. "I'll meet you at _Topanga's_ at 4, and we'll go from there." Turning on her heel, before Maya could come up with another excuse as to why she was suddenly unavailable.

"Fine, I'm going to the damn dance!" Maya shoved her books into her bag and stood. "Are you losers happy?"

While Riley was practically vibrating with excitement – the look on Maya's face the only reason she probably hadn't started squealing already – the rest of the group suddenly seemed apprehensive to Josh. He watched Maya check her phone before hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

"No," she took one step forward, just as Maya took one step back. "Maya, don't be like this?"

"Like what?" The blonde didn't bother with her jacket, slinging it over her arm as she headed to the door. "I just remembered that I have to finish that project for Jacobs tonight."

As she was the only one that took any form of art, she very well could have forgotten a project. That was, until someone saw the look on her face as she was leaving. Josh knew that he could definitely make it to her before she made it to the street. Whether to apologize, or just to make sure she was okay, he wasn't entirely sure. But he hopped off the step to the kitchen just as the front door shut, Maya on the other side and Riley crossed her arms against her chest protectively.

"Lucas!" She whined, and Josh knew tears were next.

The tall blonde was out of his seat before Riley finished his name, throwing his book and highlighter in the general direction of the couch and sprinting out the door. This time, it was left wide open.

"Shortstack!" Josh heard Lucas call down the hall, trying so very hard not to follow Riley to the door jam to eavesdrop. Farkle had promptly decided that with Lucas chasing Maya, he was now free to return to his homework.

She was faster than they thought, and Riley closed the front door just to race over to the bay window slam open the lower sash, leaning as far out as she thought propriety demanded of her. Curiosity getting the best of him, Josh grabbed his sandwich and followed her lead.

Down on the street, they stood toe to toe, almost. Lucas had successfully gotten Maya's bag from her shoulder and had wrapped it around his own torso in an attempt to keep her for fighting for it. Mayas arms were wrapped around herself, jacket still not on, and Josh couldn't figure out if it was to protect herself from the cold or Lucas.

While neither one of them could hear what Lucas said, Maya wasn't nearly as quiet. "She's _always_ trying to help." She shouted from the street. "Even when I tell her not to." She paused, following the trajectory of a cab with her gaze. "Even when I _beg_ her not to."

"And you love her for it."

Sometime over the course of her life, Riley had learned to read lips. Josh looked from the scene on the street to his niece and smiled when she laughed nervously. "Maya taught me," she whispered sheepishly.

"I don't love the way it makes me feel!" Maya's voice has risen again, and Lucas had to grab her arm to keep her on the sidewalk. "I'm tired of the fact that I'm always the effing charity case with you people! Just once, if I can't afford something, I'd like to be able to skip it."

"No." Lucas's hand shifted from her arm to cup her face, and Josh could see Maya's breath physically catch.

It wasn't romantic, not in the way that he had seen his brother and sister-in-law, or even Shawn and Katy before they had decided that distance made it too hard and friendship was easier. While his finger brushed the hair from her eyes, Lucas didn't make any other advancement. It was clear that any physical relationship they had had a time and a place, and neither of those were right here right now.

"You talk a good game, Maya, but it sucks just as much for you to stay home as it does for us." Maya rolled her eyes at that, and Lucas didn't seem to care. "And we don't do this because it's charity." When Maya's mouth opened, Lucas's thumb dropped down onto her lips. "We do it because spending time with you makes us happy, and we're okay paying for the privilege."

"I'm fairly certain that somewhere in that sentence you just compared me with a hooker."

Josh couldn't help the snort that came out of his nose, or that half a second later he coughed from trying not to gag on his sandwich. A quick glance to his niece said that she wasn't fairing much better, hovering somewhere between blind panic for hurting her best friends feelings, and glee at the fact that she was actually being open about said feelings.

" _That's_ what you took from that?" Lucas was laughing below them, and Maya's lip quirked in her own attempt not to. "I'm telling you that we adore so you so much that we're all willing to empty our bank accounts so you can be included, and you're talking about hookers?"

"You left a twenty on my nightstand Thursday night." Maya reminded him. A quick look to Riley told Josh that she was already aware of that fact.

He deserved that one. The way Lucas dropped his chin told them that. "And a ticket to the football game." He reminded her.

"Okay," Maya locked eyes with him and tilted her head. "You left the equivalent of twenty-eight dollars on my nightstand Thursday night," She amended.

"And anytime you want to say 'thank you' for that," Lucas dropped his knees slightly, to be more at her level. "I am more than happy to hear it."

Maya's entire body deflated, and Josh noted that Lucas's gaze never shifted. "I'm being unreasonable, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't go that far." That had come from Riley, as Lucas's voice was apparently too low for him to hear. "You're allowed to be proud," he poked her on the nose, and Maya twitched. "Just stop being so stubborn about it."

Another beat and Maya bounced up on her tiptoes to kiss Lucas's cheek. "Thanks, Cowboy." She pulled her cell from her pocket to check the time. "Now hand over my bag. I'm still going home."

"You don't have to" Lucas said the same time Riley let out a whine that somehow also contained the word 'no.'

Maya nodded, and Lucas stooped again while she relieved him of her bag. "I do actually have to finish my art project, and my stuff's at Shawn's."

In an effort to calm herself, Riley had turned her body back to face the living room, and Josh wasn't sure he was relieved or not when Lucas kissed Maya's forehead. "You want some company later?"

It wasn't suggestive in any way shape or form, but Maya's entire body tensed again. "Only if 'company' includes explanations on multivariable, and falafel."

Lucas kissed her again and nodded. "I think I can manage that." He checked his watch before taking a step back. "Text Riley on your way home," he ordered. "I can reassure her all I'd like, but she won't calm down –"

"Until she hears from me," Maya finished. "Yes, sir."

Deciding that the crisis had been averted, Josh pulled himself from the window seat and headed back to the kitchen table. Riley still hadn't moved.

Lucas slipped through the front door quietly, retrieved his book, and dropped onto the couch where Maya had been sitting. "Since Maya's going shopping with your mom tomorrow," if Lucas had startled Riley, she didn't show it. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Josh watched in rapt fascination as Riley's entire being seemed to come to life again. "Only if you don't mind."

From his place at the table, Farkle shook his head again.


	3. Interlude: Dress Shopping with Maya

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,177  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: "It wasn't until they were back on the street, headed back to the subway that Maya actually physically stopped. "You didn't have to do this Mrs. Matthews." It wasn't so much in what she said, but how she said it that Topanga noticed. Her bravado was gone. She was genuinely grateful that she had someone in her life that took the time to make sure she had what she wanted. "Seriously. I mean, I know you guys still pay for my cell phone. You didn't have to add homecoming dresses to it too."

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Promptly at 4, Maya slid into _Topanga's_ , hoping to scarf down a scone before the woman herself arrived. The door barely closed behind her before she realized that she had set her expectations too high.

Topanga didn't even wait for her to loosen her scarf, handing her a cardboard cup and turning her back towards the door. Maya wasn't surprised that the older woman was giving her outfit a good once-over either. When she'd called Riley the night before to apologize for her behavior, it was helpfully suggested that she at least pretend to take the excursion seriously, regardless of whether or not she actually did. So she had planned an outfit that not only covered the bases as far as school dress code, Maya code – which was considerably more important – and made it easier to get in and out of in changing rooms. It was her gift to her best friend's mother, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

She would have been amazed to admit that it wasn't her choice of wardrobe that Topanga was smiling at, but rather that she suddenly realized that while best friends, Riley and Maya were day and night, and what was considered an exciting excursion for one, might not be the same for the other. There was also the fact that she realized that in her skinny jeans, loose-fitting shrug-on cardigan, and plain white v-neck – that she accented with bangles and layers of delicate necklaces, Maya suddenly looked every bit the adult that she had been projecting for the bulk of her life.

"Shall we?" Topanga held the door and pointed to the end of the street where the subway sign peeked over the edge of a sign for a bookstore.

Maya readjusted her grip on her cup, bumped her sunglasses back onto the bridge of her nose and shrugged at her companion. She had promised Riley and Lucas that she would behave on this trip. She was going to do her best to honor that.

Originally, Maya had figured that they were on their way to the Demolition, or at the very most down to the mall. Her plan had been simple, get in, find something that fit her – preferably in black – with the smallest price tag as possible, and the get out. No muss, no fuss, and they would be back at the Matthew's house in time for Riley to regale her with tales of cheerleading practice while Topanga made dinner. When she was shuffled from one train to the other in Union Square, she had begun to realize that she might have misjudged the situation.

They continued to make small talk even as she was nudged toward the train door when it stopped at the 23rd Street station. Then it seemed like a switch had been flipped, and Topanga was suddenly a woman on a mission.

"So what kind of dress were you thinking about?" She asked slowly, linking her arm with the teenager and steering her down Broadway towards 22nd Street. "Are we looking for long, short, strappy, sleeveless?"

Maya tried very hard not to falter. "I hadn't really thought about it," she admitted carefully. She and Riley may have pored over magazines in the last month trying to come up with a look for the younger of the two, Maya hadn't really paid attention to what she found interesting.

Topanga nodded knowingly, but didn't break her stride. "Okay,' Maya seemed to gain a little more of her confidence. "Well, I know you prefer the darker colors, so we can go ahead and eliminate pastels, or anything white."

Again, Maya's smile dropped. Topanga knew her, that wasn't anything shocking; it was that she was able to separate Maya's style from what she might have wanted to put her in. Even Katy wasn't fully able to not project herself on her daughter sometimes.

Whelp, her original plan had just been dropped onto the sidewalk and left to rot.

"Riley kept suggesting green," she added somewhat helpfully.

"You don't seem married to that idea?"

Maya shrugged, "I honestly have no idea what I want." They turned onto 20th Street, Topanga steering her with a bump to the hip or a tug on her arm. "I didn't think I was going, so why come up with an outfit."

There was another nod before Topanga smiled.

They made it another few dozen feet before Topanga pulled Maya up short and turned her slightly. If she hadn't known exactly what they were there for, she would have completely missed the second-floor display. Wedged between a FedEx store, and the New York Public Library, sitting right on top of a frame atelier, was the cozy little shop with formal wear in its display window.

"Kinda small, isn't it?" Maya said without thinking, still looking up.

It was Topanga's turn to shrug. "Something tells me 'small' is the kind of store you need." Pointing to the door to the side of the atelier display windows, she gave Maya a tiny push. "Come on."

While it was true that the place was small, Maya didn't hesitate to add eclectic to the description. The gowns in the window were definitely high priced evening wear, but the second she made it up the stairs, she had to avoid walking right into a mannequin in a sparkly pantsuit arm and arm with one in a slinky cocktail dress. The room was an explosion of color, with racks everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Lounges and couches were interspersed throughout the room, with a random chair or two, and the dressing rooms were hidden behind a curtain in the back of the building.

"Topanga!" An older woman, and by that Maya meant someone who was probably closer to Grandma Matthews age, practically raced from behind the counter to greet them, pulling Topanga into a side hug and kissing her cheek. "Chrissy said you'd be in today."

Dropping Maya's arm, Topanga hugged the woman back. "I know we're early."

"Nonsense," she waved off another employee coming over to offer help. "I would fit you in even if you didn't have an appointment." Peering over horn-rimmed glasses at Maya, the woman smiled. "What are we looking for today? And don't tell me this is Riley?"

Maya's eyes bugged, and Topanga placed a hand on her back. "This is Riley's best friend Maya." She answered confidently, watching as the woman's smile seemed to grow. Neither one of them noticed at all that Maya was trying to remember to breathe. Topanga had taken her to a shop that she was clearly familiar with. Somewhere Riley had never been. "And _we_ are in desperate need of a Homecoming dress."

"Hello Maya!" Patting her on the back, in lieu of a hug, the woman brought her other arm up to her chest. "I'm Clara." When she didn't seem to relax, Clara looked to Topanga. Maya would have to admit that she didn't pay attention to the look between the two ladies, but startled when Clara's smile never wavered, and she removed her hand. "Why don't you take a look around and see if anything jumps out at you?"

With one ear on Topanga and her friend, she allowed herself to slowly move to the racks along the walls.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Clara asked her best friend's mother delicately.

Topanga moved over to the one of the chairs and set her purse down. "Only slightly," she admitted. "No pastels, no white, and nothing 'frilly.'"

She took it in carefully, assessing Maya's outfit and trying to gauge what colors she should start out with since she now had a set of parameters to work with.

Topanga waited until Maya was examining the mannequin in the back before stepping closer to her friend. "And nothing that goes into the dressing room with her needs to have a price tag on it."

While she couldn't hear what Topanga said, the look that Clara shot her, and the way she nodded carefully was not lost on Maya. "Of course." Then as if touched by a live wire, Clara darted across the room, reaching for a rack behind the counter. "What's your favorite color, Maya?"

As an artist, questions like that offended her. How was she supposed to pick just one in the cacophony that she worked with on a daily basis? How was she supposed to pick the blush that reminded her of Riley over the arctic blue of Lucas's eyes? Why did there have to be a contest between the warm raw amber that still drew her to want to run her finger's through Josh's hair, and the comforting emerald of the afghan that her Grammy had made her before she passed?

As a teenaged girl, her views on color were somewhat different. Growing up, she had learned that a person's favorite color said a lot about them. Naturally Riley's was pink, peppy and bubblegum sweet. Farkle was green, a color that symbolized power, and world domination. Lucas seemed to change his every year, which, considering his revolving door of sports and activities, didn't surprise her much. Maya had never declared a favorite color, trying very hard not to label herself any more differently than her best friend if she could help it. But she gravitated more toward the bolder colors that life provided.

"I like red," she said noncommittally, after a moment. "And green." The last one was hastily added, more because Riley had suggested it, and she wanted to be able to tell her best friend that she'd at least tried.

Taking a mental note of that, Clara held up a tape measure. "Would you mind if I measured you?" She was kind, and not at all what shopkeepers of boutiques in Manhattan were supposed to be in Maya's opinion. "Some of the sizes aren't standard, and I don't want to stick you in the dressing room with something that is definitely too big, or too small."

Maya dropped her purse down next to Topanga's suddenly really glad that she had finished all of her homework in study hall and hadn't needed to bring her messenger bag home with her. "If that's what you need to do," she shrugged out of her cardigan and readjusted her shirt.

She'd actually been fitted for one dress in her entire life. When she was eleven, and Alan and Amy renewed their vows for their 40th wedding anniversary. Amazingly enough being measured hadn't changed at all in six years. Maya raised her arms when told, took a deep breath in, and made sure to stand up tall, and in the end, Clara declared that she had one or two dresses to start her off with – 'just to help you define what you like and what you don't' – before pointing her off into the direction of the dressing rooms.

"Keep your shoes off!" Topanga instructed her as she was shuffled to the back.

Maya groaned as Clara handed her a simple green sheath dress to try on first. 'But I'm short!" She called through the tapestry that served as a door to her cubby.

There was a laugh, which sounded a little too much like Riley for her comfort, before Topanga's voice was much closer. "It'll take less time that way," she instructed her.

"If you need some 'lift,' we've got a pair of slides or two you can try." Clara supplied helpfully, sliding a few more gowns onto the rack beside Maya's curtain.

"I also don't think brown suede fringe will go with what we're looking for." The noise that came from the back of Maya's throat sounded a lot like 'why not?' and Topanga shook her head, pointing to a shorter Sherri Hill near the window.

More shuffling, and Clara and Topanga shared a look. "You okay in there, Maya?" Clara checked the tag on the dress Topanga had pointed toward, and then pulled the safety pin off.

"Yup." The curtain shifted, and Maya emerged, shaking her head. "I'm not a fan of this one."

Topanga followed slowly. "It is a little plain," she agreed.

"But we now have a jumping off point." Gown folded over her arm, Clara appeared beside her. "What do you like about this dress?"

"The length." It was the first thing that popped into Maya's head, and she smiled. As much as she hated Riley's love for jogging Central Park on the weekends, looking at her toned calves peeking out from the bottom of the fitted skirt suddenly made it not so bad. Not to mention, "Add some heels and my leg's won't look so short."

Both of the older women laughed at that, and Topanga slid out of her shoes and handed them to Maya. "What don't you like about it?"

Gaining four inches always made Maya feel better about herself. "It's so tight," she tugged at the skirt just a little, and then ran a hand down her front. "And I'm not crazy about the light green."

"No more light green," Clara helped unzip her before pointing her back to the dressing rooms. "Got it." She followed Maya back while Topanga just dropped herself onto a couch. "Let's see what else we've got."

It took Maya another forty-five minutes to veto the color green completely. It didn't matter if the emerald brought out the highlights in her hair, or if the sound of hunter green made her giggle. Next went gold, and she had to say that she was kind of sad to see that go. Topanga was the one to suggest the chiffon skirt to add some bounce to the dress, and Clara had helped her see the benefits of a fitted bodice. Half an hour after that, she was more than ready to just grab the first dress she could get her hands on just so she could stop trying on dresses.

The second she pulled on the high neck, sleeveless cocktail dress, she knew it was the one. Maya wasn't sure if it was the playful feeling she got from the fact that her front what almost entirely covered with the most intricate beaded design she had ever seen and yet the back had a keyhole opening which left the bulk of her spine exposed, or that the skirt was just long enough to be appropriate for a school dance, but it spun out when she twirled.

When she stepped out of the dressing room, still in Topanga's borrowed heels, both of the older women whistled.

"This is my dress," she said after a moment, spinning herself in front of the full-length mirror.

Even if she had thought to argue with her, Topanga took one look at the smile on Maya's face and whole-heartedly agreed. "This is your dress," wrapping her arms around Maya's shoulders, she propped her chin the best she could on the younger woman's shoulder. "This is most definitely your dress."

Topanga reached for her phone slowly, trying not jostle Maya too much. It didn't matter that the girl was so engrossed in the mirror to notice. She thumbed the lock screen and then handed it to Clara, using her hand to ask if she would mind taking a photo. When the phone was dropped back into her hand, she released Maya, thumbing through the few that were taken before finding her favorite and messaging it to Cory and Shawn simultaneously.

Six-hour time difference be damned, Shawn's reply came almost as soon as she hit send. **You did good**. Topanga read it twice, hearing his tired pride in the back of her head.

"As much as I hate to say this," taking a step back, Topanga popped Maya on the rear. "Go get back into your regular clothes." Maya pouted but nodded, stepping out of the heels before trudging back into the dressing room. When the curtain slid shut for the last time, she turned back to Clara. "Thank you."

"This is what we do honey." She moved quickly to grab the dress right as Maya put it on the rack and then moved over to the register. "I'm assuming you don't want her to know the total cost of this?"

Topanga grabbed her purse just as quickly, moving to follow her. "How'd you guess?" She laughed, pulling out her wallet and allowing her purse to drop onto the counter.

The process hadn't been as painful as she thought it would be, Maya admitted while she pulled her jeans back on. She had a pair of strappy red heels in her closet at home, and she was fairly certain that Riley would loan her the chunky gold bracelet that was in her jewelry box. Lucas had already been told that if he showed up with a corsage, she was most likely going to deck him, so there was really nothing else she needed to worry about.

It didn't escape her notice that for once, dress shopping hadn't been the most horrible thing on the planet.

Or that none of the dresses she tried on that day actually had tags on them.

Shrugging back into her cardigan, Maya pushed her way past the curtain just as Topanga was signing the card reader. "You ready kiddo?"

She took the garment bag from Clara and walked over to grab her own purse, before looking around slowly. "Yeah," she said after a moment. "Thanks, Clara."

"Anytime Maya," the older woman couldn't resist her urge to hug the younger girl any longer, and Maya actually didn't mind so much. "I'm looking forward to Prom season with you."

There was a laugh, and Topanga laced her arm through Maya's. "I'll call you next week about the firm's Christmas party."

It wasn't until they were back on the street, headed back to the subway that Maya actually physically stopped. "You didn't have to do this Mrs. Matthews." It wasn't so much in what she said, but how she said it that Topanga noticed. Her bravado was gone. She was genuinely grateful that she had someone in her life that took the time to make sure she had what she wanted. "Seriously. I mean, I know you guys still pay for my cell phone. You didn't have to add homecoming dresses to it too."

"It's a family plan," Topanga shrugged off casually. "You're just extra family."

It was corny, and if Maya was right, it was also a joke that Auggie had made a few years ago when talking about a family game night, but it was such as Matthews thing to say that she couldn't help wrapping her arms around the older woman. "I mean it, thank you."

"You're welcome sweetie," wrapping her arms around Maya, Topanga kissed her on the forehead. "And I mean it to." When Maya pulled back, Topanga poked her nose. "You and Riley have been joined at the hip since preschool. You're family." She joined their arms again and bumped their hips as she began walking. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm kind of looking forward to Prom season with you, too."


	4. Part II: Homecoming for Dummies

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,549  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: "Ain't no rest for the wicked." Maya tossed the cap to her drink into the trash on her way past. "The princess needs her glass slipper, and I have to find six inches before the horde descends." She didn't wait for him to respond, skirting her way up the stairs with a twitch of her hip.

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

It was a Saturday night in New York City.

So naturally Josh was spending it in his brother's living room, beating his nephew at Call of Duty. He'd spent the morning in his cubicle at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, being every bit the good little intern in hopes that the job offer that his managing director had told him about at the beginning of the internship would be his after he graduated. After that he'd done some reading on a lecture he would be attending Monday, played pool at the student union with his roommate and a few of their friends, and then he'd gotten the call from Cory to pick Auggie up at Dewy's. Apparently Riley's hair appointment had run late, and Topanga promised Maya that she would get her at the Minkus household and they would take a cab back to the house so she could get ready with Riley.

Too much consideration went into girl's side of school dances.

Josh was suddenly very glad that he had been far too young to actually notice Morgan going through this stuff.

He didn't hear the front door open, which could have had something to do with the One Direction blaring from the floor above him. He took a quick shot of his soda, shaking his head at the fact that he not only recognized the band but also probably knew the lyrics. His brother scurried past with a bag from the drug store down the road, shuffling to the stairs. Josh couldn't remember what errand he had been sent on, but he was fairly certain that it had had something to do with hairspray.

Maya and Topanga had arrived forty-five minutes ago; with so little fanfare that had Auggie not announced that she looked like the anti-Maya he wouldn't have even noticed. Cory had shuffled Topanga into Riley's room quickly though. Apparently there had been a slight mascara incident that required his sister-in-law's attention.

"Dude!" The controller dropped out of his hand even as he had to bite back a curse. "Do I have to literally pay you to keep you from spawn camping my ass?" Well, Josh _had_ been winning. He would have been proud if it weren't for the fact that Auggie was using the tactic on _him_.

"You can't be good at everything."

The look on the nine-year-olds face was almost comical, and Josh grabbed the controller to try again. He took a deep breath, "You've been spending too much time with Ava." He decided shortly.

"Leave my woman out of this."

He opened his mouth to snap back when a giggle distracted him. Turning slightly on the couch, Josh nodded appreciatingly at the girl-woman in front of him. "Bold choice." Maya laughed again and nodded down to her running shorts and zip-up hoodie.

"This is what happens when you leave dress shopping to the last minute." She hopped over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of green tea, shaking it a bit before popping the top. Grabbing a straw from the drawer next to the sink, Maya dropped it in before taking her first sip, presumably to save that deep pink on her lips from rubbing off.

"At least your hair looks great." Maya bit the inside of her lip at the compliment, and Josh could see the blush rise through her makeup. He had the added benefit of not lying.

While he had been privy to his niece and her best friend getting ready for dances for almost as long as they had been going to them, it never ceased to amaze him of the many styles that Maya twisted and pinned her golden locks into. Tonight's was a cacophony of curls and intricate braids that left half of her hair pulled up and the rest cascading down her back. She'd already put her earrings in, twin torrents of garnet and gold that tangled in her hair and brushed her jaw.

Her eyes swept down and Maya tried not to choke on the sip of her drink. "Thanks," she said sheepishly.

"Maya!" Riley's voice cut through the sound of Auggie killing him one more time, and Josh realized that he was definitely off his game. "They'll be here any minute and I can't get my shoes on!"

"Ain't no rest for the wicked." Maya tossed the cap to her drink into the trash on her way past. "The princess needs her glass slipper, and I have to find six inches before the horde descends." She didn't wait for him to respond, skirting her way up the stairs with a twitch of her hip.

"Put some pants on!"

That order had come from the other side of the room, and Josh almost fell off the couch trying to swivel his head to see Shawn hanging his jacket on the coat rack, without dropping his camera satchel. He set it on the chair to his left and then shook his head.

"I know for a fact that the kid owns actual clothes," he muttered to himself, followed faintly by what Josh could have sworn sounded like 'she spends enough of my money to get them.'

There was a pause, and a thud and Maya was flinging herself back down the stairs. "Shawn!"

"Hey, kiddo." He was careful when wrapping his arms around her, making sure not to flatten her hair, or squeeze her to him too tightly as to ruin her make-up. "First dance of your last year in high school," he kissed her forehead. "Did you honestly think I would spend it in a hotel room halfway across the world?""

Her smile brighter than Josh had seen it all week; Maya forced herself to roll her eyes to hide her excitement. He didn't want to point out that she was failing. Miserably. "I guess this means I can't take my date back to your place after the after party."

When Shawn's jaw clenched. Maya may not have known about that particular conversation, but her sex life was still a point of contention with Shawn. "You can always get a hotel room, like normal high schoolers," he added not so helpfully, lying back onto the arm of the couch to avoid being smacked by the older man. "Friar can probably afford it."

"You two are so very funny." Popping Josh on the back of the head with his satchel as he slid past, Shawn rolled his eyes at the pair. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed?" He asked ass he checked his watch. "It's almost six."

"After all the trouble they went through to get me to this damn thing," Maya was moving to the stairs anyway. "Do you actually think they'll leave without me?"

"I still say you go as you are." Josh sat up straight again, watching Shawn cut his eyes to him quickly. "Could start a new trend."

Cory didn't seem at all surprised to enter his kitchen and find Shawn sitting on the bench. "With as much as Topanga spent on your dress," he made sure Maya saw his smile as he spoke. "If you don't leave with it on your body tonight, someone's sleeping on the couch."

"And you don't really want to set Cory up for something like that, do you?"

"He's an old man," Shawn cut Josh off with a smirk. "And he's got a bad back."

"My shoe doesn't fit!"

Maya giggled as she finished her trek to the stairs. "That's because it's probably mine!" She shouted back, tipping an imaginary hat toward the men. "We now return to our regularly scheduled programming."

"There are days I forget she's not mine." Shawn said after a moment, watching Maya disappear around the corner. Josh watched as he shook his head, pulling his camera from his bag.

Cory joined his best friend on the bench, crossing his legs at his ankles. "She does that have a distinct Hunter spirit about her." He agreed slowly. "How long ya here for?"

"Just long enough to make sure my apartment's still standing, and to maybe take Maya out to dinner tomorrow." There had been storms rolling in when he had asked to postpone his next shoot for a few days, which had aided his request. "I've got to be back on a plane Monday night." He'd told his editor that his daughter had her first senior dance at school, and her mother had a performance that she couldn't miss. He supposed he was only half lying.

A buzz broke through the silence, and Auggie dropped his controller to hop over to the intercom. "Whataya want?" He dropped his voice in a goofy imitation of his father's.

"To pillage, burn and steal your daughters." It may have been Farkle that spoke, but it was Lucas that coughed nervously.

Turning back to the men at the table, Auggie took in his father's nervous grin and Shawn's apparent agitation. "Come on up." He decided, hitting the button to unlock the gate.

"You realize she's gonna be 18 in January, right?" Josh hopped off the couch to grab another drink

"You'd like to live to be able to legally drink, right?" Shawn countered, leveling his camera lens at him before pressing the button.

Grabbing the soda bottle, he used the same hand in mock salute. "Shutting up now, sir."

The front door picked that time to open, and five teenagers shuffled through slowly, Farkle at the lead, and Lucas bringing up the rear. "This is a very nice looking group of well-dressed young people." Cory stood quickly, walking across the room to survey them more carefully. Regardless of the threat made to him just a moment ago, Shawn shared a look with Josh that may have actually contained the words 'old man' when referring to Cory.

Closing the door behind Smackle, who was carefully clutching Farkle's arm, Lucas slid out of his overcoat, readjusting his tie. Josh had to give it to the boy. While they had all agree that there would be no tuxedoes for this excursion – saving that for prom – Lucas had definitely gone all out with an obviously tailored three-piece suit, a perfect mix of black and grey, except for the jewel-colored pocket square. If Josh were to make a guess, he would say that it most likely matched Maya's dress perfectly. Farkle wore a similar suit, the legs slim fit and his vest and jacket matching Smackle's deep purple gown. He also went sans tie, which Josh thought was a bold choice.

He skipped over Zay and his zoot suit, something that the poor boy had been rocking since their first freshman dance. This one was black with dark green pinstripes, which didn't look as ostentatious as it sounded when he'd heard it originally described. Instead, he focused on Riley's poor terrified date.

It didn't matter how many times he had been over to the house – which included no less than three meals this semester alone – William Bixby always looked afraid that Cory was going to snap at any moment and pummel him to death with a printed copy of the rules to date his daughter. Josh supposed that he should feel sorry for helping Maya perpetuate the myth that such a thing actually existed – 200 pages and spiral-bound. But the joke was too good to pass up. He too was in a three-piece; this one in an amazing shade of very dark blue, and his pocket square was pale blue.

He was shaking Cory's hand nervously when Topanga descended the stairs, clapping her hands and smiling to herself. "Your dress looks amazing, Isadora." She gave the girl a brief hug, slowly easing her husband away from her daughter's date. "And you boys look incredibly dashing." A quick kiss to William's cheek, with a hand on Lucas's shoulder, and she was turning back around. "If you want to keep playing video games Auggie, you're gonna have to move to another room." When her youngest began to pout, Topanga merely shook her head. "Josh, will you give Shawn a hand moving the couch, I want to make sure there's enough room to get pictures."

Riley arrived sometime between the time the request was made and when Josh and Shawn had moved the couch no less than three different times, per Topanga's instruction. She skipped across the room like a Disney princess in her Cinderella blue mid-calf length dress. He'd heard her talking about the sheer neckline and capped sleeves more than once since she'd picked it out two weeks ago, the bodice itself covered in rhinestone embellishments. William let out an appreciative cough, keeping one eye on Cory, and Riley twirled again, her hair spinning around her. It had been pulled up in the front with a subtle braid of hair, which held an equally delicate rhinestone headband. Her smile shone the brightest though, as she wrapped her arm around her date and reaped in the accolades.

"Hot damn." It had been Zay's voice to break over the chatter over Riley's hair, his eyes going wide before he'd let out a whistle. "I don't know if you've ever been told this before," his eyes slid past Riley's shoulder. "But girl, you clean up nice."

Cory was about to correct Zay on his language, and the proper way to compliment a woman, when everyone else seemed to follow Zay's line of sight, Lucas's arms falling dumbly to his sides. Riley, already knowing what they were looking at, just smirked.

Where his niece channeled her inner princess, Maya had chosen to rebel against hers in probably the darkest red she could find. The dress she wore was anything but simple, and Josh had to question where exactly Topanga had found it. It was shorter than Riley's, with the flowy multi-tier chiffon skirt coming to stop just above her knee instead of under it. And instead of the strapless number that she had teased Cory with the day before, it had an amazingly high neckline. The entire bodice was covered in beads and sequins and other glittery things. It was sleeveless, which didn't come as a shock to him, but when she spun, on order of her best friend, he cause a glimpse at the sheer amount of skin the so-called keyhole showed of her back.

He didn't hear the compliment that Lucas had given her, still trying to pick his jaw up off the floor, but Maya allowed her date to twirl her again, her red strappy heels bringing her chin up to shoulder height. Maya laughed whole-heartedly though, a twinkle in her eye that just spelled trouble. "Shawn's home for the weekend," she explained without even looking towards the adults. "So it's either back to my place, or we're gonna need to find a hotel."

The lens popped off the camera with a satisfying clunk, and everyone turned to watch Shawn glare pointedly at Maya. "That is enough, Maya Penelope," he told her through gritted teeth. "Please?"

She nodded carefully, meeting his gaze.

Farkle saved her from actually apologizing, clapping his hands and gesturing to Riley and her date. "Shall we get this round of pictures started?" He asked with a nod. "Reservations are at 7, and the limo is waiting."

Josh spoke without actually meaning to. "Who gets a limo for Homecoming?"

There was a pause before Maya spun on her heel and gestured to the men. "You have actually met Farkle, right?" Josh could only nod. "And yet you still ask that question?"

"Retracted," he announced with a quick grin. He still wasn't sure when she had made her way over to his side of the room.

There was more clapping, and Topanga was directing everyone in front of the fireplace, which had been helpfully cleared of family photos for the occasion.

Fifteen minutes later he realized that she had managed to sneak away from her friends as Riley was being forced into fifty million pictures with her parents and her boyfriend. She was fiddling with something in her hands, her back to the room, and then he realized just what she was doing.

"Some chaperone is going to have your ass," Josh joked while watching Maya tuck an antique art nouveau silver hip flask into a lace garter on her thigh.

It had been a 16th birthday present from Farkle, who had found it in an antique shop on Avenue A one afternoon. The card had said that it was to help her in her future endeavors as the lascivious trophy wife that would be the future Mrs. Farkle Minkus. They'd all gotten a good laugh – Maya more so due to the shot of what she found to be Grey Goose Magnum found in the flask – and Josh had to admit that he had never actually thought of it again. While the teens had all more or less, and in that he was definitely looking at Riley, admitted to having their fair share at drinks, none of them drank enough for the flask to have actually been necessary.

Still, Maya's smile was blinding. "Chaperone's don't enforce morality," she told him carefully, keeping an eye on the corner where Riley was taking photos with her parents. "They force immorality to be discreet."

He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of his throat. Maya smoothed her dress back down; making sure the flask was well hidden before twirling slightly, and kicking a foot up. His whistle was low, and he tried to keep his hands the same way as he clapped softly, "I am officially impressed."

"Only took you four years."

"This isn't the first time." When exactly did his tone become suggestive?

Maya's eyebrow rose, and her lips pursed. He got the strangest sense of déjà vu as her chin came up slightly and her eyes locked with his. Something told him he was on the wrong side of the conversation though, and he found that slightly entertaining. Maya took a step closer to him and then cocked her head to the side. "Good to know."

He would have said something else, anything really because Maya Hart getting the last word was not something that should ever be allowed in order to keep that cocky grin off of her lips, but Lucas was gesturing from the other side of the room.

"One more picture," he called, and Maya hopped down from the step of the kitchen and wrapped one arm around his waist. Lucas took a step away from her though, holding his hand out to Shawn. "Camera please, Mr. Hunter."

"For the last time, Friar. My name is Sha-" Then Lucas's request clicked and Shawn took a step back. "I'll be damned if I'm handing my camera to a teenager."

"How else can we get a picture of you and Maya tonight?" His voice was steady, and Josh saw Maya's eyes melt just slightly.

Her smile was slow, and Josh knew Shawn was a goner.

"You drop my camera, and I'm dropping you," he warned, pulling the strap from around his forearm.

* * *

They returned home shortly before two in the morning, both carrying their shoes to better navigate the living room. Curfew had been negotiated well in advance, so for once there wasn't a parent sitting curled up on the couch with a book, or grading papers, waiting to hear how their night went. Maya took Riley's shoes as she turned back to the door, slipping them onto the floor near Auggie's tennis shoes. She sent a deliriously happy, but yawning, Riley to her room with a kind word and a kiss on the cheek before turning back to the door.

From his place at the bay window, he watched as another figure followed her in, the door not shutting all the way behind it.

"Thank you for making sure we made it to the door." Maya shrugged out of Lucas's suit jacket and held it out to him. "Although I'm pretty sure that we could have done it on our own."

"You maybe," Lucas dropped the jacket back onto the chair and turned back to his date. With her shoes off, she was a full foot shorter than he was, and Josh examined their profiles carefully. They were physically closer than he had seen them earlier, or even earlier in the week when they had been on the street together. Lucas made a vague gesture towards the stairs, and Maya didn't have to turn to verify whom he was referring to. "Something tells me that Riley was one misstep away from needing to be carried to bed."

"Lightweight," Maya laughed, and Josh realized that Maya really had more than one. "You're not wrong," she answered slowly, covering a yawn with a palm. Another chuckle, and she seemed to curl herself in Lucas's chest. "You sure about that hotel room?"

"Farkle and I are headed to his place." Lucas's tone was almost capitulating. If Maya mentioned it one more time, Josh knew the boy wouldn't be able to stand a chance. "And Shawn's expecting you to be here in the morning."

"Damn you for being the responsible one." Lucas's chin dropped to the top of her head, and Maya nodded. "I just really don't want to go upstairs to _that_ right now."

He seemed less than sympathetic when they separated. "So you finally admit you're using me, Hart?"

"We're using each other," Maya said honestly.

Her voice was tinged with something that Josh couldn't put his finger on. Maya was standing as still as he had ever seen her, her face tilted up to her date's. Josh couldn't see it clearly, Lucas was blocking the light coming in from the hall, but he could see the side of the younger man's face and the way his eyes were softening. This was a conversation that they had had before. Something told him that he would be very interested to know whether or not Maya and Lucas truly agreed on the terms of their arrangement.

A heartbeat and Lucas saw something in her eyes that made him smile. "I know you're spending the day with Shawn," he started. "What do you say to dessert in the East Village tomorrow night."

The smile that spread across Maya's lips could be seen in the dark. "Rice to Riches?" She said quickly. When Lucas nodded, her grin seemed to get wider. "Okay, but you realize that Shawn's actually going to impose my curfew, right?"

A pause and then, "We'll make it work." His phone vibrated in his pocket and he didn't even bother to check it. "That's gonna be Farkle."

"Don't make me go up there," she whined.

"You'll live," another moment and they both yawned. "Text me in the morning?"

"She starts going on about Will telling her he loves her and I'm going to call you so you have to listen to this shit."

Lucas laughed, grabbing for his jacket and shaking his head. "You love it," he teased. "Riley's happy and you love it."

"She gets too happy and she's going to try to get us to become an actual couple." Maya's tone was teasing, but Josh took comfort in knowing that they weren't sneaking behind his niece's back with their arrangement. "Then I'll have to kill her, and I would not do well in prison."

Phone buzzing again, Lucas actually took a step backward to the door. "Stay strong," he teased, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Try to get some sleep."

The door closed, and Maya stood still for a moment before reaching forward to lock it. Josh took a slow breath, waiting for Maya to decide to hear upstairs. She stooped to pick up the shoes again and paused.

"Never figured you for a creeper."

He jumped. Joshua Matthews physically jumped when he realized Maya was addressing him. "How'd you know?"

"You breathe loudly." Maya turned and dropped herself onto the arm of the chair. "What are you doing down here in the dark?"

"Morgan called." When Maya's head cocked to the side as if to reiterate her previous question, Josh laughed. "Auggie fell asleep in my room." He held up his phone as if it would offer her proof. "Apparently Ma's been complaining that I don't come home much anymore, and she wanted to check up on her favorite brother."

"Don't tell Cory she said that." Having met the elusive Morgan Matthews, Maya knew first hand that her declaring a favorite brother would probably send him into a panic attack. "Then again, let me do it."

Josh laughed and flipped his phone over in his hand. "Am I supposed to pretend that _that_ didn't just happen?" He gestured to the front door with his free hand.

"I kissed my date good night." Her shrug was careful, and Josh noticed that despite her pleasantly buzzed impersonation earlier, her guard had been up for a while. "Any conversation that happened before is strictly hearsay if you decide to share it."

His hand came up slowly, trying to calm the beast before she got the wrong idea. "Your secret's safe with me," he assured her.

Maya's mouth opened and closed a few times as if her brain was having trouble processing the fact that for once she didn't have to defend herself. "Thanks," she reached under her skirt and popped the garter off, curling the lace around the bottle.

Somewhere above them there was a low whine and a thud, and Maya laughed despite herself. "How much did she have to drink?"

"One shot of this," she held up the bundle in her hand. "And half of Farkle's beer."

Josh chuckled despite himself. "You're going to have to get her wasted at least once before she goes to college on her own."

Maya's smile reflected his. "You're assuming that without me she's actually going to go to a party." The girls had applied to only one college together. Riley's first choice had been Yale, much to Topanga's delight. Maya took comfort in knowing that almost all of her schools were New York based, so if Riley got in, they would only be two hours apart by train. While it's not close enough to see each other every day, It'll make weekend visitation easier, and neither girl is completely terrified of being left alone. "Without me she'd never unfold her hands."

"Without her, you'd never come back." He watched her eyes widen in surprise. He had been regaled of the fated detention of 7th grade from both his brother and Riley, laughing at the appropriate moments of Maya's tenacity.

There was another whine, and the spell was broken. "Turn on a light next time," Maya cautioned. Shoes in one hand, flask in the other, she slid across the floor on the way to the stairs. Josh watched her slip through the hallway without faltering. Smiling to himself, he double checked that she locked the door and headed back to the guest room, hoping that his cousin could be rolled to one side of the bed without too much effort.

* * *

I have written a second interlude for this part, would anyone like to see Lucas and Maya at the after party?


	5. Interlude: After Party After the Party

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,550  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: Lucas turned fully; making sure that her body did the same. "Besides, the only people whose opinions really matter in all this," he used his free hand to cup her chin. Her teeth were digging into her lip, but Maya allowed her face to be tilted upward. She almost refused to look at him on principle. "Is us."

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Quick Author's Note:

This is not the chapter I set out to write. The one I started with was cute and had absolutely no background into Maya and Lucas and how they got the way they were. So naturally I scrapped that when I reread it. I'm seriously considering starting a story that starts at the beginning of Lucas and Maya's "understanding" in case anyone's interested.

* * *

They'd abandoned the dance half an hour after the King and Queen had been crowned – Maya still giggling over the scandalized looks on their faces when Lucas and Riley had won, even though they hadn't been a couple.

"It's a competition based on popularity and school spirit," Farkle informed them as they climbed back into the limo. Smackle had announced a craving for fries when Maya suggested heading to the after party.

"And if there are any two people in the entire damn school that exude those two things it's the Mayor of RileyTown and All-American Boy over here." Poor Will had looked almost terrified at the fact that Maya was trying to wipe her eyes and not smear her mascara. "I do give you props for humbly declining the dance and handing her back to her date though, Sundance."

Allowing his date to curl up in his lap, Farkle eyed Zay from the other end of the limo. "Why didn't we go through with the plan to stuff the ballot box?" He asked with an eyebrow quirked toward the giggling blonde?

Zay propped his feet up on the bench seat opposite to him and shrugged, "Something about cheating the system and moral repugnance," he repeated, his voice taking on a nasal quality in a poor imitation of the Minkus. "I think I stopped listening when you told me 'no.'"

Farkle took a sip of the water bottle that he had left in the cup holder from earlier. "Remind me never to do that again." If they played their cards right, they may actually be able to get Maya elected Prom Queen. Farkle pondered that for a moment.

"Tell me 'no?'" He nodded, reaching for his own bottle of water. "I'm pretty sure you can count on that." When Lucas caught his eye, he discretely thrust his chin at Maya and mouthed the word 'Prom.'

Lucas's eyes lit up, and he caught Riley's questioning gaze and nodded back to Zay. Maya would most likely kill them all – slowly – but it would totally be worth it.

"Would 'paying for the privilege of my company' happen to include buying me a milkshake?" Maya was almost horizontal now, her legs kicked up onto the seat between her and Zay, and her torso practically in Lucas's lap. She had turned, her arms the only thing keeping herself upright, her face inches below his chin.

Their eyes caught when he tilted his face down to hers, and if they weren't in a limo with five of their best friends in the world – one of them being the indomitable hyper-happy Riley Matthews – he probably would have. Lucas settled for resting his hand on the top of her thigh, under her skirt, right above where her garter stopped. "You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

She popped the 'p' on the word 'nope,' letting on elbow drop to allow his other arm to take the pressure. "You off-handedly compared me to a hooker, Cowboy." Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she could have sworn that she saw his pupils dilate. "That's gonna stick around till at least the end of the year."

"I thought we all agreed to no sex in the limo!" It was Zay that shouted, kicking Lucas's shin lightly. "If I didn't get to invite Alexis Ling for a ride, you two don't get to take one with us in here with you!"

Riley looked like she was about to choke on her tongue, face red and eyes bright when Maya pulled herself back up to a sitting position. "No one is having limo sex," Lucas scolded pointedly. Then he turned back to Maya. "And I know exactly how much alcohol is on your stomach right now. Milk is not the best thing to add to it." He knew the pout was coming long before Maya pulled her dark lips down into a frown. "I will, however, get you the greasiest burger available at whatever place Lou is stopping for Smackle's fries."

She seemed to ponder it for a moment before biting her lower lip. "Extra pickles?"

"If that's what makes you happy." Riley laughed at the way Lucas shook his head. She had been told plenty of times that what was going on with them was merely an arrangement. While Lucas had had more than his fair share of dates in school, sometimes taking the same girl out more than once, he didn't want to tie himself to anyone when he had applied to schools everywhere from Texas A&M to Cornell. The bulk of his long distance friendships had faded over the years, and at 18 he couldn't imagine trying to figure out how to handle a long distance relationship.

Maya was just picky.

Or scared. Riley could definitely make an argument for scared.

Because Maya did not date; not really. Because dating meant letting someone into your life, and that was the sort of thing that scared Maya Hart shitless. Letting someone in meant talking about her family, her half a mom – which hadn't changed much since getting her big break besides being able to leave cash on the counter, and be able to make sure the heat stayed on all winter – and her non-existent father. Kermit Clutterbucket had reappeared at the tail end of junior high, new family in toe, to introduce Maya to her sisters. He'd offered her a room in his home, a whole new wardrobe, and all the fatherly love that she could stand if she was willing to move to Chicago so he could prove to his other family that he hadn't abandoned her.

There wasn't a stopwatch quick enough to time how long it took her to tell him as politely as possible to shove _that_ arrangement up his ass. Shawn had taken the kids to Jersey the day after, allowing Katy the time she needed to demand Kermit never contact Maya again. Other than cards at her birthday and Christmas, he pretty much obeyed.

The kicker was the fact that Maya was still firmly in camp 'People Always Leave,' in which –present company, her family, and Shawn excluded- no one she got attached to stuck around, and those that stayed wanted something from her. When she admitted to her arrangement with Lucas, Maya had been insistent that it wasn't anything more than what it was. That it couldn't be. Because the second she and Lucas jumped off that bridge, there would be no going back.

And she couldn't handle losing anyone else.

That didn't stop Riley from trying to nudge, subtly of course, that if their 'arrangement' progressed to something more that she wouldn't mind. She and Lucas had never made their thing official, ever, and their friendship worked so much better than any of their 'dates' had. And she was happy with William. He'd been her casual boyfriend their junior year, becoming exclusive the following summer. Whatever it was that Lucas and Maya were doing between dating other people made them happy, and Riley wasn't above pointing that out.

Riley hadn't realized that she had zoned out. Not until limo door slammed shut again, and she came back to herself watching Farkle reposition himself in his seat, handing a bag across the limo to Lucas. He made Maya say 'please' – and 'thank you' – for her burger before passing the bag down to Zay, who pulled a box of chicken nuggets out before balling it up and taking aim for the trash can on the other side of Smackle. It landed cleanly in his target, and he preened for exactly thirty seconds before he realized that no one was clapping for him.

Maya's moan drowned out any complaint he might have had, and when all eyes turned on her, she readjusted her place beside Lucas, making sure that everyone saw that they had been keeping their hands to themselves and nodded to her half eaten burger. "What?"

It was William that laughed first, returning back to massaging Riley's feet. "Someone's obviously not doing his job right," he commented off-handedly.

There was a laugh, quick and muffled before Lucas realized just what was being implied.

Will had to reach over and grab Maya's burger when she doubled over, cackling manically.

* * *

New York may have become his home, but Lucas honestly didn't think that he'd ever be amazed at the capital thrown around for what should be simple things; Such as the fact that the 'senior's only' after party had somehow wound up to be held in a penthouse with a private deck overlooking Battery Park. He could have sworn he'd heard someone mention that someone's dad was a real estate agent, and this place had been up for sale, so it was already vacant, and staged. Farkle had tried to explain it to him, after two beers and a shot of whiskey, but it hadn't made any more sense then either.

While Riley had immediately drug her date out onto the new dance floor, Zay following after, Lucas's date staked out a the couches on the patio, dropping Riley's purse next to hers on the seat across from her. He dutifully helped Farkle grab drinks for the ladies – because logic and his Mama told him that you don't trust a drink at a party unless you poured it yourself – before settling next to her, taking her hips in his hand to pull her into his lap.

"You two-"

"Please don't." Maya cut Smackle off with a wave of her hand. They'd been fielding comments about how great they looked together all night. Maya appreciated the notice, really she did, but she was kind of tired of hearing it. Was it really so impossible to believe that a guy and a girl could go to a dance as friends?

"While entirely possible, you haven't stopped touching him all night." Farkle cut into her inner monolog. It seemed Riley wasn't the only one to accidently voice her thoughts out loud anymore.

When Maya kicked out at him, it was Lucas who blocked the blow. "We don't abuse the Farkle." He reminded her with a semi-stern glare.

Rolling her eyes, Maya suppressed a growl,

A voice on the other side of the patio shouted for Farkle, and he and Smackle excused themselves. Lucas was going to give him crap from running away from Maya when they got home. The girl in question shifted again, and he was reminded that if he had been Farkle, he probably would have run too.

He leaned her to the side, so her rear was on the seat, and her legs curled up in his lap. Her mouth opened to protest, but he managed to shut that up with a look. "What's with the mood?" He asked her carefully.

If there was ever a time that she didn't want to answer that question, it was probably then.

When she didn't answer, he moved them again, this time scooting himself to the other side of the small couch so they could face each other. "Come on, Maya. It's just us."

"There's at least a hundred and fifty people here," her look matched his. "It is definitely not 'just us.'"

His voice dipped, "Do you want it to be?"

"We're not calling Lou just so you can have sex in a limo."

Lucas opened his mouth to refute the claim but thought better of it. The second he told Maya he hadn't thought about having sex in the limo, she would not only call him a liar, she'd probably announce it too, and that wouldn't go over well with the bulk of their senior class. " _Not_ where I was going with that." He grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet with him. Zay and a lady friend were headed out the glass doors, and he flagged them over with a wave. "Watch the purses?" He asked quickly.

Zay sat down on the couch that held the ladies things, and Farkle's overcoat, and gave Lucas a quick thumbs up. "Where you two going?"

"To flag down Lou fo-"

While she was too tall for Lucas to wrap his arm around her head like he used to do to Farkle, or when she wasn't in heels, it didn't stop Lucas from cupping both hands over her mouth. "Maya's in a mood," he smiled down at Zay. Maya was licking his palm. "I'm taking her to walk it off."

With a flick of his eyes to Maya, Zay's mouth just seemed to smile wider. "I like her story better." He took a sip of his beer – straight from the bottle – before turning back to his friend. "Does at least one of you have your phone?"

Lucas nodded, catching Zay's eyes and sending him, what he hoped, was a nonverbal reminder that they were in public. And anything he did tonight could very well wind up as someone's SnapStory, or gracing their Instagram. His best friend offered no reaction to signify that the gesture had been caught, and with one hand sliding down to Maya's hip, he decided to just let his friend have some fun.

On their way to the elevator, he watched Maya use her left hand and a series of looks and what could have passed for sign language to tell Riley that she and Lucas were getting air and that Lucas had his phone. Every time he thought he might have picked something up, they seemed to change a signal. She bounced to the music in the main room, allowing her right hand to hold his to her hip so they didn't lose each other in the crowd. It would feel intimate if he didn't know that she and Riley used that tactic regularly, and with anyone they were trying to stick with at house parties. Out in the hall, they had to dodge teenagers crawling all over themselves after discovering a bit of privacy. It wasn't until they slid past Missy Bradford and her date, and into the elevator, that it felt like Maya finally took a breath.

"So it's about the crowd." Lucas took a step away from her leaned against the elevator wall.

Her mouth said no at the same time she nodded. Then she shook her head. "Not exactly," she allowed.

Lucas had become cautious of Maya getting quiet early in their friendship. He waited another few minutes before catching her eyes. "Exactly?" He held out the word carefully, hoping that she would latch back on and finish her thought.

He was about a minute away from hitting the emergency stop button, from making Maya actually look at him, when she shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

They had hit the lobby now, and Lucas wrapped an arm around Maya as they walked past the building's front desk and into the night. They didn't bother with the crosswalk, the street was damn near dead anyway, and His hand dropped to her waist when she slid down the steps to the park.

It wasn't until Maya had stopped to lean against the railing leading out onto the Hudson that he realized that he had walked out of the party while holding two beers, neither of which he remembered picking up after telling Zay they were leaving. But Maya pulled one from his hand and rolled it between his palms before taking a slow sip. Her shoulders had relaxed, and the tension in her face eased. Since she wasn't offering any more of an explanation, Lucas went back through the night to try to figure it out himself.

Maya had been fine all through dinner. She'd been properly horrified when they were shown to their private eating area at the Michelin-starred steakhouse, even more so when they'd been told that Mr. Minkus had already taken care of any bill that they would accumulate. He didn't remember her eating too much. She had rested her head on Farkle's shoulder to ask him a question before she realized that, unlike the rest of them, his menu actually had prices and decided on a salad. Farkle had ordered her some mac and cheese – which he didn't tell her contained truffle – and some fries when she refused to get anything else for herself, which Lucas knew bothered her slightly. But that had to do with the price of things; Maya hadn't become tense during dinner.

This shift in Maya hadn't occurred until they'd gotten to the dance. All the previous dances, she and Riley had seemed to ditch their dates at the door, walking in arm in arm, and bristling with energy. For this event, Maya had allowed Lou to help her scoot out of the limo and then fallen back, taking his arm and allowing Riley and Will to bounce ahead. But that couldn't have been it either. Maya liked Will, liked the smile that he put on Riley's face, and she even admitted that he was a more than adequate dancer from what she could tell from the two or three turns she took around the room with him. She and her best friend weren't joined at the hip anymore, but that had never seemed to bother her before.

That's when it hit him.

She had waved off Smackle's comment about them with a wave and a 'please don't.' Maya hadn't been rude, but firm, and had Smackle and Farkle not walked away shortly after, she would have laughed it off and pretended it didn't happen.

But it had.

Numerous times, in fact.

It was his turn to contemplate his bottle

"So what is it about everyone saying we're a cute couple that's so offensive to you?"

She turned then; laying the arm that was holding the bottle flat on the railing. "Probably the fact that we're not _actually_ a couple."

Her voice went up at the end, and Lucas knew that he either nipped this in the bud, or she was going to attempt to walk the two miles home by herself, without her purse. "Well since you vetoed the idea of an ad in the quad stating that you're just using me for _sex_ ," he waved to his body as he said it, and cocked his head to the side as if to tell her that he didn't blame her. "You're gonna have to forgive people for getting confused."

And she'd be damned if she didn't laugh at that.

"Would you prefer the school paper?" Taking another sip of his beer, Lucas shook his head. "I can talk to Hilary," Maya gripped her beer with both hands to try to keep from dropping it.

He trailed off to allow her to breathe.

"Point," Maya announced after a second.

Lucas turned fully; making sure that her body did the same. "Besides, the only people whose opinions really matter in all this," he used his free hand to cup her chin. Her teeth were digging into her lip, but Maya allowed her face to be tilted upward. She almost refused to look at him on principle. "Is us."

Her eyes softened just a touch, and Lucas didn't allow himself to think about how horribly wrong he could have misjudged the situation, choosing instead to slide his hand from her jaw to the back of her neck and pulling her up for a kiss.

If he'd even thought to describe the kiss as sweet, Maya would most likely try to deck him. He'd meant it to be a distraction, a reminder that no matter what anyone else thought, or what they decided to label themselves; they did what they did because it was what they needed. The arm holding the bottle dropped behind her back, pulling her closer, and he smiled against her lips when she twined her arms behind his neck.

When she finally pulled away, her smile was back, playful and just so Maya. "I almost forgot how good you are at that." She brushed her lips against his again slowly, not allowing him to deepen it before pulling away again.

"Short term memory bothering you that much?" Lucas dropped his other hand to briefly tickle her side when she spun to get away from him; he pulled her away from the rail to the grass. "We did that last night."

"Technically it was two nights ago," when Lucas dropped himself onto the grass, she quirked an eyebrow. "We had two minutes alone while we waited in front of your Mama's SUV, Mr. MVP." He held his arm out to her, and she shook her head. "Not only am I not interested in getting this –unbelievably- expensive dress wet from the dew, but this skirt is short." When he raked his eyes down her legs to show that he had actually noticed, she kicked him.

"All apologies, ma'am." Lucas didn't need to be told twice, sliding off his overcoat, laying it down in the spot next to her.

She curtseyed before dropping down onto her knees and tucking her skirt under her to sit down, leaning her head against his chest.

"See, now this is what I like about New York."

"That two teenagers can have beers in the middle of a public park at twelve thirty at night, and there's not a cop in sight?" Maya finished off her bottle and tossed it in the direction of the closest trashcan. There was a clink, and she was almost certain that she would have to double check that she hadn't just littered.

Lucas's lips pursed, and he tried to look disappointed that she had interrupted him. "Smart ass."

"What?" Maya just shrugged, "it's currently _my_ favorite part about New York."

"I let you be weird and retrospective." He shot back, tossing his own bottle. The clink was quieter, and Maya almost bit out that it was just the two of them, and he didn't have to be so perfect all the damn time. When he looked back down at her, though, she nodded and waved her hand in apology. "I know it's referred to as the 'city that never sleeps,'" there was a car horn somewhere in the distance as if to emphasize his point. "But for the most part, depending on where you are, you can find the quiet."

She allowed him his moment to bask, before sighing. "I didn't realize the quiet of New York City included a dubstep version of a Nick Jonas song."

It didn't matter that she was right, and if they were quiet for more than a moment, they could hear the faint sounds of the party 28 floors above them. It had more to do with the fact that she'd listened and then proceeded to ruin the moment. But he could hear the smile in his voice, so instead of calling her names, or fussing, he rotated on his arm and pulled her below him, forcing her lips beneath his own.

And this was the part of their – whatever it was they called it – that no one ever saw. It wasn't just the sex, although Lucas had to admit that Maya being able to tell when he needed to let off steam, and not judge him for it, was nice. It was the closeness that he didn't get from anyone else. Zay and Farkle could sit in silence with him, doing their own things, but it was Maya that would curl up in his lap while he read, headphones on and humming along to whatever she decided was her favorite song that day.

There was also no expectation to perform; he thought wryly, one hand keeping them upright while the other skimmed her thigh under her dress. Kissing didn't always lead to groping, and foreplay wasn't always required. She shivered below him, and it wasn't until he repositioned his hand, right above her right shoulder, that he realized it was because the bulk of her back was not lying his overcoat.

She broke the kiss with a gasp and a breath, and he sat up immediately. "Ya know, you really don't notice the wind until you're laying on wet grass."

As she pulled her flask from her thigh, Lucas shrugged off his suit jacket and dropped it onto her shoulders. "Sorry."

"Pretty sure that's not something you need to apologize for." She took another sip, allowing the alcohol to warm her from the inside, and then handed the flask to Lucas.

He wasn't entirely expecting the Jameson when it hit his tongue. Usually, Maya liked to keep something a little lighter. Handing it back, he really hoped that she hadn't given Riley her customary shot. Lucas pulled her against him again, her back to his front, and slid his hand into her hair to pull her up for another kiss. She turned slightly, to resettle into his lap, and he slid his hand up her thigh to keep it from going any farther than it had.

Lucas's phone buzzed, and he let go of Maya's hip to pull it out of his pocket. **Maya's needed upstairs**. He sent Farkle back a question mark, and almost as soon as he'd hit send, he got another one. **Now**.

"Something's up with Riley." Holding his phone out for her to see, Lucas pulled himself to his feet, reaching a hand out to help her up.

"It's almost one anyway," It took less than a tug for Maya to regain her footing, reading and rereading Farkle's message while Lucas retrieved his jacket. A breeze caught, and Maya burrowed herself further into his jacket and allowed him to wrap an arm around her shoulders to steer her back in the other direction. "We taking bets?"

Lucas shook his head, already looking both ways to make crossing the street easier. "Will looked nervous earlier, but I don't think he broke up with her."

"You don't even joke about doing that on Homecoming," she agreed. "It's like dumping someone on Prom night."

"Speaking of…" Lucas pulled her a stop right in front of the double doors of the building. "Will you go to Prom with me?"

"You sure you want to lock that one down now, Friar?" Maya's head cocked to the side, and the urge from earlier almost overwhelmed him. "Prom's six months away."

He contemplated his next sentence quickly. Telling her that he was sure they'd still be doing what they were doing sounded too much like a couple, and telling her that the way she wound up rebuffing the guys in their class that took her out hinted that she would probably be free would probably get him slapped. So he took a step closer to her, his arms threading around her waist. "I want to make sure I've got the most amazing date possible." When she just looked up at him, he smirked. "I plan to be up for Prom King after all."

Rolling her eyes, Maya reached for the door. "First one of you idiots to put my name in the ballot box for Queen is getting a Taser to the nuts."

"That's painfully specific," Lucas allowed her to move ahead of him so she couldn't see his smile.

Despite her height, Maya made it to the elevator in only a few long strides. "What can I say? A vague disclaimer is nobodies friend."

* * *

Sneak Peek for the next chapter: "You do understand it's against the law to beat your child?"


	6. Part III: Did Someone Say Turkey?

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,108  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: Checking her watch, Maya knelt on the window seat and propped her head on Riley's shoulder. "You know what I love?" She asked quickly, not waiting for a response, "Pie. Which I won't get until you two get off the phone." Riley's smile didn't waver as her best friend's hand came up to cover hers on her phone. "You both are incredibly loved, and we will see you tomorrow Will." With a smile to Josh, Maya used Riley's finger to hit the 'end' button and caught the phone when Riley just let go. "Can we eat now?"

 _Official Disclaimer_ : All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Before school let out for Thanksgiving, Josh had been presented with two options. His sister had been married earlier in the year and, living in Portland with her husband, gotten it into her head that she would host her in-laws that lived in town for the holiday. Upon realizing what it would take to put together a Thanksgiving feast for thirteen people, something that Josh could have sworn should have been discovered sooner than two weeks before said occasion, Morgan promptly freaked out and called her mother to beg they up the number to fifteen so she wouldn't be doing it alone. His mother, trying not to be worried that running to her daughter's rescue would make her a bad mother her youngest son, had offered to fly him out after his last class so they could be together for the holiday.

When he'd expressed that spending six days in Portland with his frantic sister and her husband's family didn't thrill him, his sister-in-law didn't hesitate to offer up his other opportunity. He practically lived in their guest room anyway, and they were already hosting Shawn - who had made it a point to say that he would rather slam his fingers in a door than spend the holiday with his brother's wife's family - and Maya, who's mother had been stuck in Atlanta with shows that bookended the holiday. Riley had told him that Maya had apparently received more than one Thanksgiving invitation when she accidently let it slip that her mother wouldn't be home. She had been proud when she spoke of how the Minkus family had insisted that she at least join them for breakfast when she declined theirs – which Riley elaborated would include sausage and Swiss cheese stuffed sourdough French toast and orange Julius.

Looking down at the remnants of his own breakfast, eaten around noon after a late night of playing video games with his nephew, he was more than a little pleased with himself for accepting the second offer.

Kicking them all out of the kitchen the night before – a bowl of popcorn, a tube of Pringles, some Oreos and sodas to share for their troubles – Topanga had declared it a 'no fly' zone and mentioned that if anyone wanted something from the other side of the kitchen table until dinner was served, they would have to ask nicely, and pray that she was in the mood to acquiesce. When he and Auggie had finally decided that they were awake enough to venture out of the guest room, he had sent the nine-year-old to brave his mother and returned with two breakfast shakes and the instruction that this was the last bit of sustenance besides beverages that they would be allowed before it was time for turkey. Josh had taken what was given with a smile and then started planning how he was going to con Cory into helping him procure the much-needed coffee.

"Hello Matthews family!" Three hours later, Maya let herself in with a laugh and a smile, shrugging off her pea coat and tossing it in the direction of the coat rack. She didn't stop to see if it had actually landed where she wanted it to, choosing to bounce over to the table and snag a carrot. "How ya'll doin' this afternoon?"

"Ya'll?" Josh turned to his brother in the couch, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," Cory shook his head quickly, one eye on Maya. "For the love of all that is holy, please don't ask."

He let out a long breath. When his brother didn't offer up any more information, he sat up a little straighter on the couch, his eyes still on the television.

"Well hello, Maya," Topanga side-eyed the blonde as she grabbed another carrot. "I take it you had a good morning at the Minkus's."

"Minkii." Maya corrected with a smile. It had been a long-standing joke within the group, and she fully intended it to follow Farkle for the rest of his life. "And breakfast was actually really fun. Mr. Minkus even let Farkle and I try mimosas."

While Cory looked scandalized, Josh just smiled. "How many did you get to try?" He turned then, to watch her walk in front of the television and flop down into the chair. Sparing a look to the older Matthew's in the room to make sure they weren't looking at her, Maya flicked him off. "Buzzed Maya is mean," he decided loudly.

Maya stuck her tongue out at Josh, which didn't have the same effect as it should have since she was laughing, and then crunched down on her pilfered carrot.

"Stuart didn't make you ride the subway like that, did he?" Topanga could care less about the drinking. She knew that Stuart Minkus was a fairly responsible parent and that he most definitely wouldn't have let Maya get drunk; she was also well aware that Maya was not new to the world of alcohol, but if he had let her have a few drinks and sent her from Park Avenue to the Village on the subway, Topanga would have to remind him why she terrified him so much in school.

"Like what?" So she'd had a drink or two. Okay, she'd had two mimosas. But there was no way in hell that she would actually consider herself impaired. Topanga turned around apologetically, and Maya shrugged her off. "And Lou dropped me off on his way home." Josh watched her eyes light up again at the thought of the Minkus Family driver. As a kid who grew up in one of the poorer boroughs of New York City, he didn't have to guess that someone 'sending a car' for her was incredibly amusing. It seemed like her environment finally caught up with her, and she frowned. "Where's Riles?"

"In her room," Cory answered grimly. "She's trying to boycott Thanksgiving again this year."

Maya pushed herself from the chair and started her march to Riley's room. "Did she not learn anything last year?" Hopping onto the first step, she shook her head. "If I don't get my pie because she's being crazy today…"

It suddenly occurred to Josh that _that_ was the reason why neither of his niece's parents had so much as batted an eyelash when Riley had announced that she would not be celebrating the holiday. Although he was more than a little interested in why Maya was so upset about the pie.

"Riley threw it away." Cory supplied when he remembered that his brother had spent the holiday upstate with his roommates and his girlfriend.

While Josh was entirely certain his brother was serious, he couldn't shake the craziness of it all. "What?"

"She denounced the meal and all it stood for, then threw away Maya's pie." Topanga slid a second casserole into the oven and turned back to the table. "If Shawn hadn't picked that time to crash dinner, and bring more dessert, there might have actually been bloodshed."

"Which is why I brought extra today." Shawn let himself into the apartment; three rather large bakery boxes perched precariously in one hand. "The top box needs to be refrigerated," he supplied when Topanga helped him lighten his load so he could take off his coat. "Katy ordered some Raspberry Charlottes for Maya since she couldn't be here today." He looked around for a moment, noticing that the room was devoid anyone under the age of eighteen and frowned. "She's not still at Minkus's is she?"

Topanga shook her head, trying to create room in the fridge for the box. "Got here about half an hour ago," she noticed Shawn let out a breath and smiled. When he'd promised Maya he would be there for her, no one knew that it would progress to this.

"Upstairs with Little Miss Activist," Cory pointed behind him in the vague direction of the stairs. "I really wish I knew where Riley got this from."

Josh watched as Shawn physically swallowed a laugh, looking from one of the older Matthews to the other. "Really?" Topanga rolled her eyes, and Shawn chuckled. "You're right," he decided. "Complete mystery to me too."

"We didn't act alone, Mr. Cory," she reminded him carefully, finding room on the table for another trivet and then checking the timer.

Shawn nodded, conceding slightly. "It's not my kid refusing to eat her turkey and dumping baked goods into the trash to show her displeasure over the genocide of indigenous people, European barbarism and the conquest of a continent." He turned to Josh, smiling. "Direct quote."

Hiding her smile behind a sip of wine, Topanga checked the timer once more before turning back to the rest of the room. "We've got twenty minutes left on the casserole, Josh would you mind starting to round up the kids?"

After twenty years of life, Josh fully understood a ploy to get him out of the room when he heard one. "Yes ma'am," he saluted, grabbing his soda and beginning his quest. He stopped by Auggie's room first, knocking twice before swinging the door open. Having been banned from the Morgenstern household for the day, Auggie had fled to his room once football had started, preferring to read than watch his father shout at the television for no reason. "Hey Aug," he leaned into the room, waving when he realize that his nephew was lying on the bed with his headphones on.

"What's up?" Auggie dropped his book, picking his feet off of his windowsill.

"Your mom's announced fifteen till food time." He flipped the book over and smiled when he realized that it wasn't likely something that was on his classroom reading list. "Now would probably be a good time to finish the chapter and wash up."

Auggie checked his phone, hoping his best friend had managed to get away from her parents for a few minutes to text him back, and sighed. "Sure thing." He picked his book up again and smiled up at his uncle. "I'll be out soon."

Giving his nephew a quick salute, Josh turned back toward the door. "Roger that." Auggie put his headphones back in and Josh laughed. "Seriously," he said loud enough to be heard. Auggie looked up. "Fifteen minutes."

Auggie shrugged him off a second time, and Josh let himself out, headed across the hall.

He knocked once, just like he did in Auggie's room, and then pushed the door open slowly. He had learned over the years that there were only two moods in his nieces room that he had to pay attention to. The first was when they were being goofy. When their laughter fluttered down the hall, and it didn't matter how many times someone knocked, or called, neither girl would hear you anyway. The second was when it was quiet. That one could have meant one of two things. Depending on the time of day, either girl could be asleep, which was a distinct possibility at any given time. Or they were having a disagreement. That was a tread lightly kind of situation.

While the room was quieter than usual, he was thankful for the fact that it didn't appear that there was an argument going on. Then he realized it was because only half of the dynamic duo was actually in the room. Maya was curled up on the floor in front of the window seat, on top of a mountain of throw pillows, with her sketchpad in hand.

His niece was nowhere to be found.

Knocking again, he smiled when Maya's eyebrows raised but she didn't look up. "Topanga's announcing dinner in a few." She nodded, slipped her thumb through the part she just drew, and then finally looked at him. "Where's Riley?"

Using her graphite covered thumb, Maya pointed out the window. "Fire escape," she clarified when Josh just blinked. "Will FaceTimed," she explained as she closed her sketchpad. "He's in Yonkers, but apparently that's too far away and he couldn't look at his cranberry sauce without being reminded of her."

Nodding slowly, Josh tried not to shrug. "So why is she on the fire escape?"

Maya pulled herself to her feet, tucking her pad into one of the cloth boxes Riley kept on a shelf. "Apparently she didn't appreciate my running commentary during her heartfelt conversation," she shrugged.

"Single white female doesn't look good on you, Maya." If it weren't for the smile on his face, and the laughter in his voice, Maya just might have bite back.

Instead of justifying Josh with an answer, Maya slid onto the window seat, popping her head out. "Turkey time!" She shouted somewhere to her left.

When she pulled herself back in, Josh's smile was still in place. "Where's the cowboy?"

"Texas," her response was quick, and Josh noted that she sounded bored. "Pappy Joe's Thanksgiving is to die for." Her voice quirked up in an imitation of Lucas's accent, "He'n Zay'll be back on Saturday."

The fire escape clanked on the other side of the wall. Riley's voice lilted through the open window in a chorus of 'I love you more's' that had Maya nodding. The truly impressive thing was the way Riley slid back into the room while maintaining eye contact with the phone's camera. "No, I love you." She whispered out again.

Checking her watch, Maya knelt on the window seat and propped her head on Riley's shoulder. "You know what I love?" She asked quickly, not waiting for a response, "Pie. Which I won't get until you two get off the phone." Riley's smile didn't waver as her best friend's hand came up to cover hers on her phone. "You both are incredibly loved, and we will see you tomorrow Will." With a smile to Josh, Maya used Riley's finger to hit the 'end' button and caught the phone when Riley just let go. "Can we eat now?"

"Hungry Maya's mean too," Josh added softly as Maya passed him on the way to the door.

She paused, allowing Riley to pass through the doorway before her, before turning to face her best friend's uncle. "You're lucky you're pretty," she decided after a moment, turning and following Riley down the hallway.

Josh made one more quick stop by Auggie's room, to make sure the boy had actually followed instructions, and when he made it down to the table, he realized that he missed something, again.

"I'll just have a sandwich," Riley was telling her mother quickly, pushing her plate back toward the center of the table. "I already told you I am not participating in your ritual sacrifice."

Taking the empty seat beside Maya, Josh watched as Shawn took a deep sip of his tea in order to avoid his smile being seen. Maya just laughed as Cory tried his hardest not to look horrified. "Thanksgiving is _not_ a ritual sacrifice!" He shouted at his oldest.

"It is so!" Riley shrieked back, waving to the rest of the table. "To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal." She pointed to the turkey and all the dressings. "It's a ritual sacrifice."

Shawn's eyes cut to Maya only a second before her mouth opened. "With pie!" He shook his head slowly; knowing that while Cory and Riley faced off, there really wasn't anything that the rest of them could do, other than eat. Maya passed the green bean salad to Josh and helped herself to a roll, stuffing it into her mouth while reaching for the gravy.

"You are eating turkey with the rest of us, Riley." Cory was trying to remain calm, he clearly was. "Or you're just not going to eat."

"And now it's turned into a hunger strike," Maya muttered under her breath, earning herself another look from Shawn.

Josh knew he was just going to get the Hunter glare on him too, but he had to laugh. Was this really a replay of last year's meal? And how in the world did he not hear about it later? "You sure you want to get into this?" Shawn asked Maya carefully, his smile peeking out from behind his glare.

"I'm not participating in this sham." Riley was still glaring at her father, the rest of the table leaving them to it. Even Topanga had just shrugged and turned to help Auggie grab what foods he wanted. "It's a sham with yams."

"It's a yamsham!" What no one seemed to realize was that while Maya was snacking straight from the plate, or topping her mashed potato volcano, she had also been dropping food on Riley's plate as well. Sweet potato casserole was added next to Riley's cranberry sauce, and Maya dropped a fork in it like a flag. "Now eat your yams." She set the plate in front of Riley and rolled her eyes when her best friend just stared at her. Riley's mouth opened in rebuttal, and Maya popped a green bean into it, using her free hand to slide it closed. "Hunger strike on a day your mom _didn't_ spend fifteen hours cooking turkey."

* * *

A ringing phone interrupted the silence of scarfing down dessert, and it took Maya a good minute and a half to realize that it was hers. She slid it out of her pocket quickly, thumbing the 'ignore' button before shoving another piece of chocolate mousse into her mouth. When Shawn nudged her with his toe, a questioning look on his face, Maya just shook her head.

"You know what we forgot to do this year?" Riley was curled up in the armchair with a piece of crumble cake. Auggie run out of the house like his pants were on fire when Dewy's parents called to invite him along for their traditional Thanksgiving Movie Adventure, and Cory had fallen asleep in the Matthews' new armchair.

"What did we forget, honey?" Topanga was spread across the couch, thoroughly enjoying the fact that Josh and Maya had volunteered to do the dishes this year, so for once, she had nothing to do post-meal.

"We didn't go around and say what we were thankful for."

There was a snort and Cory's eyes opened carefully. "We would have if you hadn't remonstrated your yamsham."

There was a laugh, and Josh couldn't really tell whom it belonged to, but Topanga rolled her eyes at her husband. "You're absolutely right." Topanga sat up, pulling her feet under her and motioned for Maya to join her on the couch. "I know Auggie's not here, but why don't you start us off?"

As Riley sat back and began to think of all the things that she was thankful for, and whether or not she should include it, Maya detoured on her way from the floor to the couch. She dropped another piece of mousse cake onto her plate next to a Raspberry Charlotte – thank you Mom – and refilled her glass of milk.

"I'm thankful for my family," Riley started out, as if that wasn't the first thing she said every year. "For Mom and Dad, and Gran and Poppop Lawrence, and the Matthew's family." She swept an arm in the direction of Shawn and Maya, her smile just as bright. "And for friends who are just as good as family." Sliding off of her chair, Riley walked around the back of the couch and wrapped both arms around her best friend. "Because I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kissing her cheek carefully, Maya bumped her forehead to Riley's cheek. "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried, Peaches."

"And we've tried," Cory still hadn't opened his eyes, continuing to enjoy the satisfaction of his Thanksgiving food coma.

With an impulsiveness that Shawn immediately recognized, Maya used her middle finger to sweep a dollop of whipped cream off of the top of one of her Raspberry Charlottes. She glanced at the other two adults for a moment before mentally calculating the distance between her and her former teacher and popped her wrist in his direction. It landed with a soft squish in the middle of his face, his unsuspecting inhale taking some cream into his nostrils.

No one spoke, no one smiled.

Shawn's eyes bugged, as Cory sat up and wiped the whipped cream from his face.

"You do understand it's against the law to beat your child?" Shawn asked Maya carefully, as she kept her gaze steady on Cory.

"He's not gonna beat me." Maya's voice was more confident than the rest of her. Josh noted that the fingers that were still covered with whipped cream shook when she brought them up to her mouth.

Cory took a deep breath to make sure that he didn't have any more cream in his nose, and his eyes met Maya's carefully. "You think you're funny?" He asked carefully, scooting to the end of the recliner. "You really thought that was funny."

"You were talking about getting rid of me, Matthews." Maya dipped her finger into her mousse again and smiled. "What was I supposed to do?"

Josh didn't realize until it was too late, that Shawn's banana pudding was sitting on the small table next to the armchair, and Cory had somehow procured the spoon with more than a little pudding still on it. "I see your point." His voice was even, somehow even a little amused, and Maya's body relaxed just a bit.

When the pudding landed in her hair, it was like the dam burst. Maya shrieked, Riley snorted cake, and Topanga immediately went on the defensive, pulling the blanket down from the back of the couch to try to cover it. Maya didn't hesitate to flick a forkful of food back at him, accidently hitting Shawn in the process.

"This is _so_ not what I had in mind!" Riley squealed as she and her plate rolled to the other side of the chair, Shawn was in the mess now, flipping pudding at both his best friend and hers. Josh took pudding to the side of the face, and when he raised his hands in surrender – due in no small part to the fact that he had finished his dessert, and only had a cup of iced tea to defend himself with – Maya didn't hesitate to practically slam his face into what was left of her Raspberry Charlotte.

"Why, why, why?" Josh turned more fully to the teen, her smile forcing one onto his face. "Why would you do that?"

Maya giggled, and it didn't matter that Cory and Shawn were making a bigger mess than anyone else, or that Topanga _and_ her blanket were now covered in chocolaty banana raspberry goodness. For the first time all day, Maya's face was completely unguarded, and it was truly an amazing thing. Another laugh, and "you look cute in pink."

"I look cute in pink?" He slid a finger into the pie and wiped it down her cheek. "You're right," he chuckled, pulling her forward enough to miss the spice cake that Shawn launched at the reemerging Topanga. "It _is_ a really nice color."

"Have you all gone crazy!?" The war stopped abruptly, Auggie slamming the door behind him as he surveyed the carnage.

Amazingly enough, the couch was pretty safe; the blanket that Topanga used was covered in confection, much like Topanga herself. Riley had taken cover behind the chair, so other than a little red faced she was perfectly fine. He and Maya were on the floor now, with pudding in their hair and raspberry on their face. Cory and Shawn were completely covered. Wearing more pudding than Maya actually thought could possibly be contained in Shawn's bowl. They were all laughing, Maya having a hard time catching her breath, and Josh knew that it didn't matter that they weren't possibly getting out of cleaning the mess up before bed, this was one of those holidays that they were going to remember.

"I'm thankful that you four are gonna be the ones cleaning up this room." Topanga stood, folding the blanket up to keep any of the mess from falling out.

Hoisting herself up, and heading into the kitchen in search of a hand towel, Maya followed her best friend's mother's lead. "I'm thankful that even though my mom's 700 miles away, I'm not short on family."

Wiping the side of his face with a finger, Josh rubbed it on the towel Maya had over her shoulder. "Yeah." She shook her head, trying to get the rest of the gunk out of it, and hit him in the face with a wet lock. He physically stopped her head from moving and wiped his face against her shoulder. "And we're not gonna let you go that easily."


	7. Part IV: Auld Lang Syne

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,729  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: "I changed my mind." Josh watched her eyebrow rise as she took a sip of her drink, Lucas turning to accept felicitations from Riley and Will. "Suddenly you look _very_ fourteen."

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

There's a lot to be said about receiving an invite to spend New Year's Eve at one of the most exclusive parties in New York City.

It was another thing entirely when this party was being held in the Rainbow Room at the top of the Comcast Building, complete with open bar, car service, and formal reception station-style buffet.

Trying his hardest not to whistle at the opulence around him, Josh tucked his date's hand into his arm and slowly descended the stairs. The room in front of them was decked in silvers and golds and mint green with crystal everywhere. Both Josh and his date had already checked their coats, and a well-dressed assistant with a clipboard waited for them at the bottom of the steps, presumably to help them find their seats. Behind him, his roommate had already started to question whether Josh had to kiss or kill someone to score something this epic for their holiday celebration.

He wasn't entirely sure how to tell him that all he had done was show up to a family game night a few nights ago. Farkle and Maya had done the rest.

They paused, allowing the assistant extra time to converse with whoever it was in front of them. "I just got lucky, I guess."

"Lucky?" The assistant was flipping through pages, seeming more than a little agitated at the fact that she didn't immediately recognize them. "Name please?"

"Joshua –"

"Matthews!" Maya bounced up to them on too tall heels and wrapped her arms around him in an attempt to steady herself. "He's with us, Claudia!" Releasing him just as quickly as he was grabbed, Maya bounced back a step, before launching herself at Christian. "We'll take him too."

Her date appeared next, tall and dapper in the same suit he wore to Homecoming. "You guys are at table four," Lucas informed them as he wrapped an arm around Maya's waist. "Matthews."

"Friar," Josh didn't hesitate to shake Lucas's hand. "Lucas Friar, this is Ellie Holmes, future Nobel physicist."

"Tall order," Lucas whistled after a moment, trying to keep Maya upright and carry on the conversation without actually splitting his attention. Josh noted that he was doing a much better job than anyone would give him credit for. The normally short blonde was explaining the hierarchy of the party to Christian and his new girlfriend. "That is Maya Hart."

"How much has Maya Hart had to drink?" Josh was only partially joking. He had yet to have the privilege of seeing her completely gone before, but something told him that he might learn a thing or two tonight.

"Half a pear Bellini." When Josh's eyes widened, Lucas nodded. "What you see before you is a combination of espresso shots and pixie sticks." Maya giggled at something Allison said behind them, and Lucas managed to distractedly walk her away from the entrance. "It was Riley's idea."

"She's peppier than I am," Maya made it back to the conversation, completing an abbreviated pirouette in her date's arms to face the proper direction. "Let _that_ sink in for a minute." The draped overlay of her one-shouldered cocktail dress still fluttering as she gesticulated.

At the Minkus's request – and he could thank Topanga's annoyance for the fact that he also knew it was on the Minkus's dime – both girls had been outfitted in darker shades of mint green in order to signify that they were with the family. He hadn't understood it when Farkle had tried to explain the inner workings of Jennifer Bassett-Minkus's party planning, but he did appreciate the results. As they neared the tables to the left of the dais, Josh caught a glimpse of Riley in her knee-length lace sheath dress.

Lucas seemed to catch his eye over the top of Maya's head. "Sugar and Spice," he agreed as if he could read his mind.

Another pirouette and Maya did her best game show model impression as she presented the table behind her. "We're on the other side of the railing," She waved at Riley and Will and turned to her left. "Mr. Minkus and the baby Minkii are more toward the back."

'Baby Minkii' was a vast understatement, but Josh was used to Maya's generalizations. Farkle was the oldest of four, his sister Imogen sharing their table. At fifteen, she and her best friend had been allowed to actually join in the revels of the New Year. The twins, Leighton and Keegan, were back at the table with their parents. The party hadn't officially started yet, and they both looked like they were seconds away from falling asleep on their plates. Josh guessed that was what happened when seven-year-olds decided they were big enough to celebrate with their siblings.

Which brought up the fact that the twins were the only ones in the room who actually had food.

Riley wrapped an arm around him, kissing his cheek and introducing herself to Ellie in one smooth motion. "Buffet starts after Mr. Minkus makes the welcome announcement," she pointed over to the stage where Stuart Minkus had seemed to teleport to,

"Dad's got this big speech," Farkle leaned over the railing, handing two glasses to a waiter. "He thanks the big wigs and the employees that are here, introduces the family and then pronounces it food time." All in all he seemed rather bored with the prospect. "But hey, since the twins are here, we're not required to actually go up on stage this year."

"You guys do this every year?" Ellie had set her purse down, snagged her water glass from her place and rejoined then, threading her arm through Josh's.

"Five times a year." The waiter returned with new glasses of sparkling cider, and Farkle turned to pass them to his sister. "New Years – which is never in the same place twice, Mom said she's considering doing yachts in the Hudson next year. The Minkus International anniversary lunch, which seems to be exclusive to the Central Park Conservatory Garden. Then there's the Family Fun Day in the Hamptons and the 'Big Thank You' party." He was ticking the names off of his fingers now. "And the MI Christmas party, no one under 18 please." His last sentence came out in an almost perfect impression of his father, complete with the arm tucked in the jacket and the shake of his head. "Then there's the Mikus Charitable Foundation stuff, but Mom does most of those speeches."

"And you have to go to all of them?"

Maya's hips shifted to the beat of the instrumental pop song playing through the speakers on stage, her hip popping against her best friend's. "Do _not_ knock the BTY party," she said seriously, waving her finger in his general direction.

"And we got to spend at week at the Minkus place after Family Fun day last year," Riley agreed.

"There may be moments of stuffy businessy stuff," Maya's mouth quirked and she shrugged. "But the parties are kind of epic."

Farkle bowed slighty, nodding to where Isadora Smackle was making her way through the crowd in a strapless calf length cocktail dress with thick lace accents. "And I get the added benefit of being able to surround myself with beautiful women."

Watching Smackle skirt past her, Maya smirked. "We're going to 'fashionably late' this evening are we?"

"If a girl looks like this when she gets here," Farkle took his date's hand, lifting it up to drop a kiss to her knuckles. "Who gives a damn if she's late."

There was a low 'ohhh' coming from the two girls by the step, and Riley waved in the general direction of her date, Lucas, and Josh. "It seems you've all been outclassed." Maya caught Lucas's eye, and when he winked, she blushed. "Why, oh why could we not have chosen to date Farkle?"

"If you had tried," Isadora set her clutch down at the place setting next to where Farkle had left his suit jacket. "I would have been forced to atomize your entire existence."

"Yeah," Maya hopped off of her step and moved closer to her date. "Somehow that's no less scary when she's in formal wear."

Lucas dropped a kiss to Maya's forehead, relieving the waiter that seemed to be hovering just outside the group of a champagne flute garnished with pomegranate seeds and a thin slice of pear. A Pilsner flute was set on the table at his elbow, and the Texan nodded his thanks. "I'll protect you." Josh watched him whisper to the blonde, handing her the Bellini.

"We're staying in the Minkus guest suite tonight," Maya popped up and kissed him on the nose. While Riley clapped encouragingly, Josh threw a questioning look to Farkle. "You're already getting laid."

"Are they always like this?"

With Farkle having a quick conversation with his mother, it was Will that answered him. "Not at all," he leaned over the railing in order to converse without having to be loud. "We usually get one or two public displays and a hell of a lot of banter." Lucas had talked Maya into heading back to their table, and Riley fluffed the skirt of Smackle's dress one more time, helping her check her make-up before the darker haired girl took her date's hand and was led through the crowd.

"Duty calls!" Farkle called behind him. "Someone keep Maya away from my drink."

"Spoilsport!" Maya shouted back, reaching over and taking a tentative sip of whatever was in Farkle's glass. She made a face, dropping the glass back down to the table with a groan. "Seriously?"

"If everyone could be seated please?" The voice belonged to the woman Josh would forever refer to as 'assistant number one,' and she had ditched the clipboard in favor of a handheld wireless microphone. Everyone slid into their seats, minus the Minkus's – both Farkle and Imogen had taken their plus ones up to the stage with them – and Riley and Maya seemed to be content perched on their dates laps to her better views. "Thank you. It is my esteemed privilege to present to you, a man that needs no introduction: Mister Stuart Minkus."

Applause erupted and Josh watched Stuart kiss the twins on the forehead on his way up the stage, his wife following closely after. She stood off to the side, just at the top of the steps, as Stuart took the mic from his assistant, whispering something to her before moving to the center of the stage.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," Stuart Minkus held the microphone in one hand and a drink in the other, looking every bit the Fortune 500 CEO that he was. Where Farkle and his sister were on the causal side of formal, in a three-piece suit and cocktail dress respectively, the patriarch was decked out in full black tie. "Now I promised my kids that this speech was going to be short this year. Apparently dinner doesn't start until I step off the stage." From her place at the side of the stage, Imogen shook her head and muttered something about how telling everyone that isn't making his speech shorter. "Sorry sweetie." The rest of the room just laughed.

"I had an entire speech ready for this evening, full of references to stock prices, and talks of how the year we're leaving has been amazing to us all." Jennifer smiled indulgingly as if she's the one that had written the speech that Stuart was lamenting the loss of.

He didn't need Riley's voice behind him to say that it was entirely possibly that she had.

"I scrapped it all before even getting in the car tonight." There was a nervous chuckle around the room, and Josh watched Stuart's smile turn contemplative. "While getting ready for this evening, one of my eldest son's friends quoted T.S. Eliot in the middle of my kitchen." The laugh was behind him now, and Josh didn't even think about turning around. "And I thought if she could make sense of the last year of her life with two sentences, why can't the rest of us.

"'For last year's words belong to last years language, and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.'" He raised his wine glass, wrapping his free hand around his wife and pulling her closer to him. "May we all have a bright and prosperous 2019, filled with only good blessings! Happy New Year!"

The room erupted in cheers and 'hear hears' and Stuart could be heard dimly over the sound system as the turned to his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Was that quick enough for you sweetie?"

* * *

"Where's your date?"

Josh turned, just in time to see Maya hop up next to him. He'd wandered out onto the terrace early, hoping to grab one of the tables to make it easier to watch the fireworks, and Maya set her glass down beside the votive and readjusted her double-breasted shearling coat. She hadn't buttoned the coat, and the ends still seemed to flap no matter how many times she puled them together.

"Bathroom," Josh pointed vaguely in the direction of the hallway inside Sixtyfive and Maya nodded understandingly.

"Five minutes to midnight and she's braving the line." Maya whistled, her eyes scanning the top of the city. Briefly his niece's voice skittered through his head reminding him that this was the first time Maya had been this high up in the city.

Then he snapped back to what Maya had just said. "There's a line?"

"There are three hundred people here," her laugh was almost contagious, and she took a quick sip of her Bellini. "Even if only half of them are women, there's most definitely a line to the ladies room."

Well, that most definitely sucked.

Still, Christian and Allison were supposed to be following him out, the promise of fireworks from the Hudson, East River, and Central Park being too good to pass up. And he could always catch a kiss later in the evening. El was already planning on staying with them so she didn't have to deal with campus security.

"Did you know that German folklore says that the first person you encounter in a new year, and how the interaction goes, is supposed to set the tone for the rest of the year?" Maya had her back to the city now, watching his face as she finished off her glass. She set it on the table to her left, "Your brother insists on telling us that _every_ year."

"You can take the teacher out of school…" He had to admit the adage definitely fit with Cory. "He comes by it honestly, though, Feeny was all about how every day was an opportunity to learn something new." Josh remembered getting to middle school and realizing that his brother's favorite educator – and their next-door neighbor – was now his principal. While he didn't get the lectures that Cory and Shawn boasted of from their youth, he'd been forced to learn a thing or two when detention beckoned.

Maya nodded, crossing her arms against her chest and turning back to the cityscape. "The New Years kiss is about strengthening ties you want to preserve in the future."

The sentence seemed nonsequential, but one look to her eyes proved that she hadn't been sure what to say, so she just went back to her original train of thought. Her eyes caught something on the other side of the terrace, and he raised an eyebrow. "You trying to tell me you're invested in my New Years kiss?" He asked slowly.

The laugh that bubbled from her lips forced his smiled wider. "Do I look fourteen?" Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Maya reached a hand out taking a second champagne flute from Riley and seeming to fold the younger girl into her coat. Riley was in flats for this venture, so they seemed to be close to the same height now. "Where the hell is your coat, Pumpkin?"

He couldn't hear Riley's response, but marveled at how Maya handed the flute she had just received back off to Lucas – without looking at him or speaking – so she could wrap both arms around her best friend. Lucas took a step to the side after a moment, Will sidestepping him so he could drape Riley's oversized coat around her shoulders and pull her to him. Maya dropped a kiss to Riley's forehead before taking the flute back and randomly fist bumping Farkle, who had appeared on the other side of the table with his date and sister.

In the middle of a conversation with Smackle, where they seemed to be debating scientific terms for something that he didn't catch, Farkle took a quick sip of his drink and continued to gesticulate wildly, his left arm not moving as emphatically as his right. Lucas's phone had materialized at some point, and he and Riley were shouting greetings and 'Happy Early New Years' at the screen.

Maya checked her own phone; her smile fading somewhat when Josh realized that she had no messages. For a split second, Josh thought of trying to get her attention. Of anything that he could say or do to get the laughter back into her eyes. He was a firm believer that no one should ever be down while surrounded by friends.

"Brought you a drink." Christian handed him a champagne flute, steadying two others in his other hand for his date. "Where's El? Getting out here was a bitch."

"Bathroom." Josh caught Maya's eye, "I think she got caught in the line."

Allison nodded in understanding. "Hopefully she makes it before the fireworks start." From their spot, they would be able to easily make out the Hudson River and Central Park fireworks. They'd have to shift a little further to the right in order to clearly see the East River. "This view is _amazing_!"

"One minute to midnight!" Farkle tucked the microphone into his suit jacket with the same stealth that he had pulled it out, and Riley almost shrieked.

"I wanna say something!" Riley practically shouted and Lucas bopped Maya on the nose with a pointed "No."

The blonde held her hands up in surrender. "I don't want it." She announced.

Farkle gave her an appreciative smile – after all, Maya was the only one that would actually pose a threat if she'd gotten it into her head to get the microphone – and picked his glass up from the table. "Any last minute resolutions?"

At the exact same time, Riley and Maya turned to each other, smiles bright. "Talk less!" They announced in unison, each wagging a finger at the other, "Smile more!"

"I'm gonna stop going to see musicals with you crazy people." Will's smile told the group that he was lying, horribly, but the girls giggled nonetheless.

The microphone was back out, and Farkle rotated his wrist to see his watch before turning it on. "Who's ready to start counting?" The crowd on the terrace - and it didn't amaze Josh that it seemed to be the younger crowd - started cheering. "TEN!"

The chant was taken up immediately, Riley and Smackle hopping to the countdown.

"SEVEN!"

Lucas slid past Will, holding both flutes and smirking down at the blonde. Josh couldn't help the grin on his own face when Maya's smile returned, accepting her glass and grabbing a hold of Lucas's tie.

She pulled Lucas down into a kiss even before the count hit 5, twining both arms around his neck and forcing him to brace one hand on the glass behind her. Riley clapped her hands and giggled, and Farkle just rolled his eyes and shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. From what he had gathered, while they weren't shy about their arrangement, public displays of affection were few and far between for the blondes, only appearing during special occasions.

"THREE!"

Riley wrapped her arm around Josh's, noting his lack of date and determining that she was going to ensure that no one felt excluded.

"TWO!"

He and Christian bumped fists, the excitement seeming to multiply for something that happened every year.

"ONE!"

" _Happy New Year_!"

The entire terrace erupted into cheers and loud kisses, Christian and Allison no different. Josh turned to give them a second of privacy, thankful that the fireworks over Central Park had begun right as the clock struck the new day so he wouldn't be stuck desperately hoping that no one accused him of playing the voyeur.

To the other side of him, Maya tucked the top of her head into Lucas's chin, both of them seeming to whisper back and forth for a second.

He was vaguely aware of Lucas whispering 'go for it.' Before Maya released the taller boy, turning more fully to him.

The kiss she planted on him was simple and sweet, her lips off center, and landing on his cheek just as much as his lips. It lasted all of two seconds, and Maya's hand came up to brush her lip-gloss off of his cheek even as she pulled away. It was the same kind of kiss his niece was bestowing on Farkle on the other side of the table, and Will on Smackle. It meant nothing more than a handful of teenagers enjoying their last New Years as a cohesive unit. Her arms came up around his neck, and he was instantly aware of the cold crystal of her champagne flute pressing against the back of his neck as she breathed on his ear.

"Happy New Year."

Lucas's arms were around her waist again, and Maya stepped back into him with a twinkle in her eye.

"I changed my mind." Josh watched her eyebrow rise as she took a sip of her drink, Lucas turning to accept felicitations from Riley and Will. "Suddenly you look _very_ fourteen."

Maya's wink caught him off guard as she wrapped her arms around her best friend and she and Riley shared a quick peck. Ellie appeared then, apologizing about being unable to get through the crowd in time and pulling him in for a quick kiss. When he tucked her into space in front of him to watch the fireworks, he swore he could still her the petite blonde laughing beside him.


	8. Part V: Barely Legal

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows» Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,132  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: Why was everyone acting like he had forgotten his girlfriend's birthday? She's his niece's best friend. And him forgetting her birthday would not have been the end of the world.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

The start of classes was always rough on Josh, making sure he had the required equipment and texts and starting his outlining. And he'd added a few extra hours a week on his internship, joining the project team for the next of New York City's zero energy schools. The responsibility was amazing, and it gave him a leg up on the new interns – as well as added to his surety that he was up for an actual position in the company after he graduated.

The downside was that it left very little time for family and friends.

Which was why he was completely blindsided when Riley showed up unannounced at his cubicle at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill on a Wednesday night, hair pulled into a neat French twist, and perfect woolen coat covering a simple purple dress.

"Are you allowed up here?" He asked slowly, running a hand through his hair. He'd never actually had visitors in the building, and where he'd always used his employee id, Josh had no idea how to actually obtain a visitor's pass. When Riley blinked, he sat up a little taller, "Did they let you up here?"

Taking in the disheveled – and apparently under-caffeinated – creature before her, Riley just sighed. "We're gonna be late," she informed him, reaching up to take the pencil from his fingers.

"Late?"

He was pulled from his seat abruptly, Riley running a hand through his hair in a vague attempt to straighten it. "You forgot."

Josh honestly couldn't remember what it was that they could have told him that he would have forgotten. And that in and of itself was most likely the problem. "Obviously," he said after a moment, batting her hands away from his sweater. While he didn't think that he was dressed as nicely as she was, he was still required to dress professionally as an intern. He didn't think he looked too shabby in his light blue oxford and his black argyle sweater. He'd actually worn slacks that day instead of his dark wash jeans. He scribbled what he was researching on a sticky note before attaching it to his desktop screen – because he was fairly certain that Riley wasn't about to let him stay there since she'd come all the way to Wall Street to collect him, "What did I forget?"

"It's the sixteenth," Riley was looking at him expectantly, grabbing for his double-breasted pea coat from the hook on the wall.

The sixteenth of January.

He had missed a text from his father earlier; saying that they had made it to Cory's to start their long holiday weekend. A weekend that they had added an extra day to for a very specific reason.

His desk drawer opened, and Josh grabbed his keys and his cellphone, his eyes landing on the wrapped box sitting in his desk tray.

The sixteenth of January.

Maya's birthday.

"Fuck."

Riley just smiled. Apparently she knew that he would figure it out all on his own. "Dinner at L'Artusi," she supplied instead. "We're supposed to be there at seven thirty." She held up her phone so he could see that it was ten after seven.

They were most certainly going to be late.

"I am so sorry," he started, calculating the time it would take to get to the subway, on the 1 and then up to Tenth Street. Yeah, they definitely weren't going to make it that way. He reached for the phone at his cubicle as he shoved his keys and his wallet in his pocket. "Hey Tony, it's Josh from SOM." Taking his jacket from her hands, Josh threw that on too, pulling his scarf from the hanger and slinging his satchel over his shoulder. "Would you mind getting Stu to grab a cab for me?" He waited a beat, dropping the neatly wrapped package into the flap of his satchel. "Thanks, man."

The phone dropped to the cradle, and Josh shut off his monitor.

"Text your dad," he ordered as they made their way to the elevator. "Tell him you found me, and it's my fault you're late."

"Katy's bringing Maya to the restaurant at quarter till," Riley was still doing as she was asked. Cory had known that Josh had most likely forgotten. With the exception of a few texts, and a rushed dinner the week before, they hadn't really heard from Josh since the semester started, which meant that the youngest Matthews had put his blinders on – something that even Cory had been accused of when he had a goal ahead of him. "We've got a little time."

"We're still taking the cab," Josh decided, holding the door open for Riley to slip out into the night. He guessed he could be thankful that it was Riley that had come for him – even if he was incredibly curious as to why his brother allowed his seventeen-year-old daughter to ride both the E and the 2 trains alone after dark.

Had he voiced that sentiment, Riley's answer would have been a straight ' Maya does it all the time.'

That didn't make him feel better either.

Josh came back to himself as he thanked the older gentleman at the door before sliding into the back seat of the cab behind Riley. "L'Artusi," he heard Riley call up to the cabbie. "228 West Tenth, please?"

"You're so polite," Josh had to bite back his laugh.

"And you're apparently an idiot." Riley gestured to his bag with one of the oddest smiles on her face. "You had absolutely no idea what day it was, but you didn't forget to get Maya a present?"

There was the briefest of moments when Josh wondered if he could possibly roll out of the cab while it was moving down FDR Drive. It was highly possible that it would make him even later – and he couldn't remember if he had his laptop in his bag or just his tablet. It wouldn't be a good thing for either of them. Was it really a good idea to bring up the fact that he'd had Maya's gift since before New Years?

"To be fair," he started carefully. "Me not remembering Maya's birthday had nothing to do with her birthday." Even the cabbie snorted. Why was everyone acting like he had forgotten his girlfriend's birthday? She's his niece's best friend. And him forgetting her birthday would not have been the end of the world. "When you showed up, I barely knew what day of the week it was." When Riley nodded, he allowed himself to smile. "Once you told me today was the sixteenth, I _knew_ it was Maya's birthday."

Readjusting her collar, Riley laughed. "You don't get brownie points for that, Josh."

The cabbie seemed to nod in agreement.

He didn't answer her, choosing instead to watch the city roll by.

Before he'd gone and gotten so swamped with work and school he had actually been looking forward to this evening. It was the first time he had seen his parents since Christmas, and this was the first dinner that he was going to have with his brother in he new year that didn't end with him getting a frantic phone call from his roommate about how their Structural Design TA posted in the class's online discussion board that there was going to be a quiz the next morning in class.

Thankfully enough he had already worked his schedule out so he could take the morning off to spend time with his parents – although he wasn't quite sure what he was going to be doing with them – therefore, he didn't have to worry about that sort of thing happening this time.

And suddenly he realized that there were two more Matthews waiting for him at the restaurant to tease him mercilessly over the fact that he had lost track of time.

Yay.

"You never told me how Katy and Shawn managed to get the wine room at L'Artusi reserved for Maya's birthday," he seemed to have cut Riley off midsentence, but she didn't look to be bothered by that.

Her eyes didn't leave her phone. "Dad called Mr. Minkus to invite them to celebrate with us last month, so he could have a headcount and figure out a restaurant." She paused and snapped a quick selfie, texting it to whoever had garnered so much of her attention. "When Dad mentioned that he hadn't picked a place yet, Mrs. Bassett-Minkus kind of took over." She shrugged as if to say that this kind of benevolence happened all the time where Maya was concerned, and spared another glance to her phone.

"Maya only turns eighteen once," he supposed aloud.

"For Lucas's birthday, we had home plate tickets to the Yankees," Riley offered helpfully.

Not for the first time in his life, Josh wondered just how rich the Minkus's were.

And it made him a little sad for the fact that Riley's birthday was in December, and they would all be off to college by then. He might have to mention to Maya that they do something to celebrate when she comes back for Christmas break.

"So where's your present?"

Riley bounced in the seat now, turning to fully face her uncle. "Dad's bringing them," she almost squealed. "I didn't want to have to juggle on the subway."

"Might have made some decent money." Josh watched Riley smile again and she tucked her phone in her jacket. "What did you get her?"

"I found this awesome multi-compartment messenger bag for her to carry her art supplies in." Josh only hoped that Maya was as excited as Riley was about the find. "She's been complaining _forever_ about how she hated bringing her supplies to school because she doesn't like risking getting her books dirty or ruining her homework – which she actually _does_ now - so it's got all sorts of little bins and bags to separate everything. Now she doesn't have to worry about it!" The cab jerked to a stop at a light, and he could feel Riley vibrating now. "And I've already stocked it with Sanden brushes, so she doesn't have to worry about getting new brushes for school."

Even working with designers and artists, Josh had absolutely no idea what made Sanden brushes better than whatever it was that someone could buy at an art store, not that he'd ever tell any of them that. He couldn't fault Riley's joy over picking out something that Maya had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about.

After all, that was where his gift idea had come from.

"Katy got her a new easel," Riley pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through the pictures. Then the smart device was shoved into his face, picture of a wooden easel on casters snapping into focus. It was huge, almost as tall as the girl receiving it – standing in the photo in her plaid pajama pants and the NYU hoodie that he had bought her for Christmas. "I don't know what Shawn got her," was it accurate to describe her tone as regretful? Josh had to bite back a laugh over the fact that he honestly believed Riley was happier about Maya's birthday than the blonde was.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," the cab was rolling up to the curb now, flipping on its lights and punching the meter. Josh didn't hesitate to pull his wallet from his pocket, flipping it open and retrieving two bills. "Keep the change."

The cabbie smiled and tipped his hat. "Tell your friend 'happy birthday.'" He called as the young adults climbed from the car.

Josh took a deep breath as he readjusted his bag, standing still so Riley could use him to steady herself as she fixed a high-heeled shoe.

"We were starting to worry about you, son." Alan Matthews was leaning against the building with Shawn, just watching the people mill about on the busy sidewalk.

"Yeah," he didn't have to worry about appearing sheepish, blush rising on his cheeks. "Sorry about that."

His father just pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "You wouldn't be a Matthews if you had excellent time management skills."

"That _does_ mean you're not cooler than me, yet." Shawn clapped him on the shoulder, taking in his appearance. "Although we can't accuse you of not trying to look the part."

"It's what he wore to work." Riley had hopped up next to them now, sliding her arms around her grandfather's waist to get the same treatment. His kiss landed on her cheek, and she beamed at the men around her. "I didn't even have to text dad to bring the emergency shirt."

It was up until this point that Josh thought that it hadn't been a big thing that he had gotten caught up in work. "There was an 'emergency shirt?'"

Shawn tried not to smile as he nodded.

"You realize that if Katy sees all of us out here and we ruin the surprise," Lucas stepped up to the group from the other side of the sidewalk, brow furrowed. "She's going to kick our asses."

Josh couldn't help but to point at the blonde. "Hah!" All eyes turned to him. "I'm not the only late one."

There was a moment before Lucas actually laughed. "I've been here for twenty minutes," he told them. "Riley sent me down the street when she decided that Maya needed birthday flowers en route." His arm came up, winter bouquet filled with oriental lilies and amaryllis waving around. "I refused to buy roses." Riley's mouth was open and Lucas lifted a finger to pop it closed. "It's clichéd and ridiculous and Maya would hate it."

"Have I ever told you how annoying it is that Maya talks to you too?" The brunette was trying to pout, and failing miserably. She was too caught up with being excited that Lucas had put some thought into the flowers.

Opening his mouth to snap back an answer, and upon seeing Shawn's glare, Lucas actually thought better of it. "You'll get over it," he decided instead, casting a quick look down the street. "Now can we get inside before Maya's mom has to plot our deaths?"

"When did you become afraid of Katy Hart?" Josh stopped just inside the door to help Riley with her jacket, slinging it over his arm so she was hands-free.

The teen seemed to allow Alan and Shawn to get further ahead of them before he opened his mouth to answer, flowers coming up to cover his lips. "About the time that Katy caught me wandering around her living room in my boxers." He wasn't sure if Katy had shared that tidbit with the other parents in the group, but he liked the thought of keeping Shawn from actively trying to murder him just a bit longer.

He didn't even bother to elaborate further.

The decision whether to laugh at the kid or attempt apathy was robbed from him by their arrival on the mezzanine, and the loud shriek from his mother announcing it.

"My brother," Cory made it to him first, pulling him into a sideways hug.

"My brother."

But Amy wouldn't be deterred, racing over to wrap her arms around her youngest. "You look so dashing," she kept complimenting him even as she was readjusting his clothing. "And this shirt is very nice, Joshua, did you pick it out yourself?"

"Stole it off a homeless man on 6th," Josh made it away from his mother just long enough to pull his satchel over his head and shrug off his coat, handing them both to the waiting attendant. The man moved around the open area, hanging the jacket on a rack and setting the bag down on a chair next to it.

Shawn matched him mothers appalled glare. "Not the one with the bum knee," he covered his mouth with the hand not holding his beer. "I was going to grab his shoes next week."

Amy simply smacked them both. "My boys are _very_ funny." She laughed anyway, glad to see that all of the men she had raised were still as close as they had been.

Across the room, another waiter moved up to Mr. Minkus, announcing that the guests of honor had arrived. "I don't think I have to say 'places everyone.'" From the other side of the curtain separating the mezzanine from the rest of the restaurant, Josh could hear Katy telling Maya that she'd gotten the only reservation available.

"Let's not kid ourselves," Maya's voice carried even over the hum of the patrons below them. Heels were clacking on the metal steps, and Josh smiled at the annoyance in her voice. "The first person to jump out and yell 'surprise' is getting decked."

The curtain was pushed back then, and the collective that was Maya's friends and family immediately did their duty and called out 'happy birthday!'

"No one said 'surprise'," Katy was telling her daughter, as Maya's entire face contorted in joy. It was entirely possible that she had been expecting Shawn, and the local Matthews clan – and possibly Farkle and Lucas – but the Amy and Alan had been a surprise, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Minkus. "Happy birthday, baby."

She still hadn't recovered her voice when Shawn walked up to the ladies, wrapping both arms around Maya. "Happy eighteen, kiddo."

"You didn't have to do this," she whispered into Shawn's shoulder. It was entirely possible that a birthday dinner had been her mother's idea, and the Matthews were invited because they were the Matthews. But getting a space like this, and inviting the extended Matthews family, and her friends were all Shawn – and maybe a dash of Cory. "You really didn't have to do this."

"You only turn eighteen once," Shawn kissed her temple, turning her around so Riley could latch on to her back. "And you deserve this."

Anything she said next was overridden by a classic Riley Matthews squeal. "Were you surprised?" She asked her best friend, pulling off her jacket and handing it to the waiter. "Tell me you were surprised!"

"There was surprise," Maya conceded, maneuvering herself in Riley's arms so she was now facing her friend. "Thank you, pumpkin."

Steering her toward the wine room, where the table had been set for dinner, Riley finally released her hold on her friend. "You're eighteen!"

"Can you say that one a little louder?" Maya had found Farkle in the crowd now, wrapping her arms around him. "I don't think that everyone downstairs was aware that this was a party."

"Well they should get on it." Mindful of her knee high skirt, Lucas wrapped one arm around her hips, lifting her off the floor. "We're celebrating here."

"Lucas Tristan!" Maya's voice carried, and Josh noted that every adult in the room turned to their direction. "Short people don't like heights!"

Shawn shouted something unintelligible as a second waiter arrived to grab the rest of the drink orders, and Stewart Minkus began to shuffle everyone into the wine room to their seats. Lucas shifted his weight, pulling Maya into his arms in the classic bridal carry before plopping her down into the chair at the middle of the table. Riley on one side, Lucas on the other, and Josh was surprised when he was ushered to the seat across from her, sandwiched between Farkle and Zay.

Dinner was a blur of food and laughter and stories of the fantastic five and their various misadventures. They all laughed over Zay throwing up just hours before it was time to prepare for the New Years Eve party, and the wreck that was eighth grade – love triangles, poor Charlie Gardner, and all. In turn, Stewart Minkus provided a bit of honest commentary of his experience in school, and what he hoped they would be able to share in their journey to college in the fall.

Maya's desert did not come with a chorus of 'Happy Birthday.' It was due in large part to the fact that she refused to give up her steak knife, and almost physically threatened her best friend if she thought about trying it. That was not to say that dessert didn't come. Maya received her hazelnut chocolate torta with great ceremony, taking her first bite before anyone else was allowed to look at theirs.

She also ate the bulk of Lucas's roasted pear gingerbread cake, but no one really paid that much attention anyway.

"Can we open presents now?"

Riley had physically been bouncing since the dessert plates had been collected. It had been bad enough that presents had been banned from the wine room and there was a small pile in the mezzanine just waiting to be opened.

"I don't need any presents," Maya shifted so the waitress could refill her water glass. "Seriously guys, dinner was amazing enough."

"So that means I can return it for my money back?" Shawn was already on his feet, making his way across the room to the pile, sliding his out from under Riley's oversized box and moving to put it near his jacket.

He didn't get too far, Maya practically tackling him for the package. "Well, if you've already spent the money," she rationalized, giving the brightly wrapped package a little shake.

The rest of the group started to move out of the wine room; their own glasses in hand. Josh caught his mother remarking to Katy at how great it was that Shawn had found a surrogate daughter in Maya, since they were never sure if he was actually going to settle down at all. There was a nervous cough after Amy asked if there was any chance that she and Shawn would give it another go; maybe have more kids.

"Because I really need to have to worry about putting more than one kid through college?" Shawn's arm was still wrapped around Maya's and he was trying very hard not to step on her.

"You're not even worrying about putting this one through college!" The teen piped up, dropped herself into the chair Riley was indicating.

There was a pause when Maya finally released him. "You realize that you eat out of my fridge at least three times a week, I paid for your last three canvases, and my guestroom is a lovely shade of purple?"

"Eh, quit yer bitchin'." She shook the box again for emphasis and smiled.

Cory couldn't repress a chuckle as Shawn sat down next to him, content annoyance written on his face. "If only she knew just what was in that box," he muttered to himself. "Shaking it around like that."

He had another minute and a half of muttering before both girls in the middle of the room let out a high-pitched squeal. "Holy shit, holy shit," Lucas's arm came out of nowhere to keep Maya from dropping the box, and Josh noted how none of the parents had said a thing about her language. She repeated the words at least half a dozen more times before taking the box back, holding it up for the room to see. "It's a Cintiq!" she waved the box at her mother, "He got me a Cintiq!"

"I'm now thankful that as a New Yorker, Maya'll never need a car." The look Katy threw Shawn was playful, and even a little grateful, and Shawn accepted it with a wink.

"There's a stand already on your desk at my place," he told the bouncing blonde, trying to find a way to thank Lucas for taking a hold of the box again and actually sliding it under a chair. "A buddy of mine's an adjunct in the art department at NYU and he said that there's an emphasis on digital creativity when you're studying general art." Amy just looked impressed that he had taken time to think about it. "I figured this way you could get some practice in before college started."

"She hasn't even gotten an acceptance letter yet," Alan added carefully.

Shawn shook his head, watching Maya reach for a gift bag. "She will."

Then there was the flurry of paper.

Maya received a handful of gift cards - which Zay refused to apologize for; girl was damn hard to shop for – and a set of mugs labeled 'brush water' and 'not brush water.' There was a large tub of Artguard, because Will was practically clueless as well, which went over just as well as her new supplies bag from Riley, and an oil painting cube set from the older Matthews clan. Farkle had gotten her a new pair of headphones, 'to replace the ones you keep taping together,' and his parents had gotten her a new iPod to go with it.

She'd unwrapped the small box from Lucas with a confused brow raised. He had already given her the flowers, and she'd opened a present first thing that morning with a new leather bound sketch journal. "It's not ticking."

"For once in our friendship could you just accept that I bought you something nice without question?" The blonde was on the floor in front of her again, a place that had proved dangerous with Maya bouncing up and down to hug gift givers and squeal over boxes. "I actually spent a lot of time tracking this down."

"You want a cookie?" The comment slid out even as Maya was popping open the box, her words dying off as she saw the pendant nestled in the box. "It's a dime," she said, pulling the coin, and the chain attached to it out of the box.

"Look at the date."

Maya spun the dime, holding the front with her finger. "It's a dime that's as old as I am." She sputtered for a moment, trying to recall a time when this particular increment of money was significant to them.

He pulled himself off the floor then, reaching to take the chain from her. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who used to use her own form of measurement for how attractive someone was." His voice was low, and Josh actually had to be thankful that he was seated in closer than the rest of the adults so he could actually hear it. "And since you seemed intent to give me a ten, I thought it was high time that I returned the favor."

If they weren't in a room full of parents, Josh actually thought that Maya would kiss him. Instead, she just seemed to nod. "Boing."

"Boing," Lucas confirmed.

"Last present!" Riley was on the other side of the room now, far away from where the present pile had originally been, and it wasn't until she dropped the flap closed did Josh realize that she had pulled his small box out of his satchel and was bouncing her way back.

Maya did him the courtesy of not pretending that it was ticking or trying to guess what was inside before sliding the seam open with a nail and ripping the paper off. The Pandora box practically gave away what was inside, but he watched her breath hitch all the same.

"I know how pissed you were when yours broke on Boxing Day." Cory and Topanga had taken him and Maya along when the family had gone ice-skating in Central Park the day after Christmas, citing that the kids needed to get out of the house before someone died horribly. He didn't remember Maya falling, or taking Riley down with her, but he recalled the way her lips quirked when she realized that she'd landed on the clasp of the bracelet that her mother had given her for her sixteenth birthday.

He also remembered the look on her face when she casually mentioned that she didn't think she could afford to have it repaired, or get a new one.

There were two beads already on the silver bangle, the gold Essence creativity charm, and the hematite that symbolized courage, but the rest of it was bare, just awaiting her to add the charms from her previous bracelet to it when she got home.

"Thank you," Maya slid the bracelet onto her wrist beside the bangles she had worn for the evening, twisting it carefully to watch the new charms sparkle in the light. "I – " She stood, stepping over Riley and Lucas on her way across the room. "I didn't think you noticed."

Josh pulled her into a hug and smiled when her head rested on his shoulder. "A girl like you stops smiling for an afternoon," his voice was low. "I noticed. Happy birthday, Gorgeous."

"I should try making out with people on New Years."

Zay's voice carried out across the room as eyed the two jewelry boxes sitting next to him.

And just like that, the peace was shattered.

Cory's eyes were wide as they darted across the room. "Making out?" He looked to Riley and Will, seated a respectable distance away from each other, then to Lucas. "Who was making out?"

"No one," Josh claimed calmly, the very same moment that Riley shouted "Maya!"

"Two people!" The blonde in question couldn't even find it in her to look ashamed. She made her way back over to her chair with a calm grace that most of the room laughed at. "I kissed two people at midnight." Farkle counted it out then, pointing at last to Riley. "Three people! I kissed three people at midnight!"

"And only got two pieces of jewelry," Lucas tossed the Pandora box into the larger one that Riley's present had come in, to make it easier to transport. "Must not have been any good."

There was no way for him to dodge her foot now, and he winced on impact.

When Josh managed to catch her eye again, as Shawn was helping Katy load the boxes into the trunk of the waiting cab, he winked. He put his hand to his chin, thinking for a minute before nodding. "You weren't horrible."

It took Maya a moment to remember what he was talking about, and then she was smacking him with her free hand. " _I_ wasn't horrible?" She asked incredulously. " _I_ wasn't horrible?" Her hand grabbed his lapels, and Josh braced a hand on her hip to keep her upright. "I want a do-over!"

"No!" Cory seemed to pop up out of nowhere, shoving a hand between his brother and his daughter's best friend. "No more kissing!"

Instead, Maya licked the back of Cory's hand, laughing as he squealed.

Josh pulled away after he was sure that Maya wasn't going to wind up on her ass on the sidewalk. "Maybe some other time," he promised, giving his brother one final hug before following his parents down the street.


	9. Part VI: Future So Bright

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,706  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later._ In this chapter you will also find the lyrics to One Direction's _Perfect._ I don't own either of those.

* * *

When Maya receives her acceptance letter to NYU – almost a full month later than her friends - the Matthews' throw a party, because of course they do.

Josh is invited because it's a Saturday night, and he's already finished the bulk of his final papers and projects –his Architectural Criticism paper is currently being reviewed for grammatical errors by his lovely sister-in-law and will be submitted first thing Monday morning. He expects to be told to meet them at _Topanga's_ and is pleasantly surprised when his brother announces that they will be partying under the stars on the roof of Shawn's loft in TriBeCa.

He isn't told whether or not he should bring a gift.

It's apparently a surprise party. When Josh arrives – promptly at quarter to eight as instructed – the guest of honor and his niece are nowhere to be seen. The other half of their quintet is sitting by the fire escape, the tallest straddling the cornice. There seems to be some debate with the parents on whether or not Riley should have been the one to guide Maya to the party, Katy stating easily that a bit more subterfuge may have been needed.

They shouldn't have been worried. Riley leads Maya onto the roof with a shout of "I could have sworn it was here somewhere!" before Maya quite literally trips over her best friends feet when she notices the three-dozen people circling the service elevator doors.

He watches Maya try not to get excited about the fact that her academic future is now set, and that she didn't turn out to be the complete failure that she had originally anticipated. It doesn't matter that she had received an invitation to the Institut Catholique de Paris summer program _Painting through the Art Movements of Paris_ – complete with room and board - earlier in the year. Or that when Katy came up short for airfare Shawn donated some of his sky miles, as well as more than a few euros to her trip.

They didn't tell her that though, Katy had her pride, and the smile on Maya's face at her mother being able to provide this for her was more than enough for Shawn.

She makes her way through the crowd slowly, trying to evade hugs just as easily as she pulls others into them. Shawn's gotten two, because of course he does, and Maya seems to gravitate to Lucas and managed to keep her distance from him at the same time – you hear her tell him later it's because his arms are longer and that puts him closer to the food.

"Hey Gorgeous."

Josh makes his presence known before he actually steps up. He's not sure if it's because he knows for a fact that Maya doesn't like to be snuck up on, or because he wants to give her time to sufficiently pull away. They'd both been absolutely horrible at not being awkward since he all but promised her another kiss on her birthday. That and just last week Riley had loudly noted that in a little more than three months, they'll be the only two left in the city.

His brother tells him not to sweat it. Maya's been pulling back from everyone since the realization that the life she's had for eighteen years is drastically changing has come upon her. Even she and Lucas seem to be hovering between heartfelt admissions and blatant arguments.

Maya shrugs her jacket off as she turns to face him. "Josh."

He's been just "Josh" for a while now, which both relieves and saddens him. While he can't remember the exact date, 'Uncle Boing' died a relatively quick death shortly after the girls' freshman Homecoming experience. Maya's boyfriend at the time was the jealous type, and she claimed to have outgrown 'childish nicknames.' Amazingly enough poor young Friar will never be able to run from the superabundance of sobriquets that Maya has given him over the years. Josh is pretty sure she's already found a way to write "Huckleberry" on the tag of his letter jacket to be found at an embarrassingly later date.

There's a split second where he's not entirely sure how he's supposed to proceed. She's wide-eyed and unguarded and he's not used to that. "Congratulations." He opts instead of their usual banter, and when he reaches for her, she pulls back slightly.

The hug he gives and the hug she accepts are two completely different motions.

"Thanks!"

Before he can get another word in, she's swept away by Zay, who has declared that whatever tune is being blasted from the speakers is his 'jam.' They go on for at least two more songs, Farkle joining in at some point, and Josh admits that watching her unguarded is something that he could probably get used to.

"You're not dancing?"

At first he thinks that his niece is talking to him, so Josh turned to the sound of her voice, ready to play the 'old man' card to get out of bouncing around to whatever newest girl group to come out of X-Factor was blaring through the speakers. Then he realized that Riley has dropped herself to the cornice with Lucas, the young man watching his three friends bop around like lunatics with a sad smile on his face.

"Naw," the blonde ran a hand over his face, "She deserves to enjoy this."

"You don't think she'd enjoy it if you went over there?" Popping a potato chip in her mouth, Riley tried not to look incredulous.

Lucas shook his head. "I think this is something you should leave alone." There was tension in his shoulders, and either Riley didn't notice, or she didn't care. As much as Josh loved the fact that his niece was the perfect blend of his brother and sister-in-law, he wished she would hit the point where she realized that she couldn't fix everything.

She shook her head as if she was trying to figure out whether or not to actually listen to him. "I just think that you shouldn't give up just because she's being a little difficult."

"Riley," Lucas finally locked eyes with the brunette, shaking his head. "Leave it."

Josh was about to try to intervene – and do what, he wasn't quite sure – when Will shouted her name from the center of a Zay, Maya, and Farkle sandwich. Apparently they had caught him and wouldn't let them go. She took a minute, pointing to Lucas and shaking her head before the older boy reached over and lifted her off the cornice by her hips.

"Go," he told her sternly.

"You'll have to forgive her," Josh took another sip of his beer as he moved closer to the teen left alone. Lucas didn't look up, and Josh was okay with that. Hell, he had no idea what prompted him to start talking anyway. "The hero complex is genetic, and she's helpless against it."

Lucas actually smiled then. "It's annoying as hell to the rest of us." He allowed, taking a swig of his own beer. Katy had handed it to him when he'd gone to grab Maya her bottle of water, calmly telling him that she believed he deserved this after the last few weeks with her daughter. "So if you could filter that out for any future generations, the rest of us simple folk would appreciate it."

"You've been sleeping with Maya for what - a year and a half," it was the first time that anyone had probably said it aloud, and in public, and Lucas's face said that. "I don't think there's any part of your life that's _simple_."

He accepted it with a nod, and a tip of his beer. "You're probably right."

They were quiet for a few moments, both watching the vivacious blonde bob and weave through the throngs of people. At present, Topanga and Katy were trying to teach her the Macarena. Poorly.

"I'm not used to seeing you two like this." Josh was the first to break the silence, still not looking at Lucas. When the blonde cocked an eyebrow, he pointed to the center of the roof. "Separate."

Lucas nodded. "I'm not used to being like this," he admitted softly. "I mean, even when she was dating her way through the lacrosse team, and I never knew which day a week she would jump me, she never pulled back." Another pause and Lucas wondered briefly if he could steal another beer. "She never stopped talking to me."

"It's because she knew you weren't going anywhere." Josh didn't know where the words came from, or why he was imparting them on Maya's – whatever it was they were calling it. "You were a physical presence, and even when you were thinking about sleeping with that exchange student," Lucas's eyes shot up and Josh smiled. "The walls in my brother's house are _extremely_ thin." He offered. "And Riley must have demanded that Maya talk about it for as long as you were dating the girl."

Adriana, Lucas's brain supplied, from Portugal.

Josh nodded as if he'd actually spoken aloud. "The point is," he went on, "You were there." Lucas nodded. "Physically, emotionally, you did your homework together, and she didn't have to guess whether or not she was an important part of your life." Silence and Josh wasn't sure where it was that he was supposed to be giving advice. "And if she's gonna lose that, she wants it to be on her terms."

"I'm going away to college, not the moon." Lucas drained the last of his bottle; taking aim and launching it to the trash can that served as the recycle bin for this party. "Yeah I'm going to Cornell, and I won't be home every weekend, but she's not losing me."

"Have you told her that?"

"Of course." He was getting defensive now, and neither one were sure why.

But it didn't stop Josh from turning to actually face the man. "I mean, have you looked her right in the face and told her that you'll still be there for the three a.m. phone calls, and the days when she needs to run away from herself?"

"Since when have you become the expert on Maya Hart?"

Josh chuckled. "Since never," he decided. " _But_ I got a front row seat to my sister going through high school, and when you're related to Cory Matthews, you get a lot of advice on how to understand people even if you don't actually want it." He tilted his chin to his niece and Maya spinning each other around. "And Maya's been this Maya since she was about six." Or at least, he was almost nine when his parents sat him down and told him that Riley would be bringing her best friend with her that summer and that Josh was to be extra nice to the blonde. "And the best piece of advice that I ever got was to never assume anything."

Another moment of silence, this one not as awkward as the last.

He waited another beat before looking to his niece and her friends; Maya's smile still not reaching her eyes. "Isn't this the part where someone is supposed to make a grand gesture or something?"

And something clicked in Lucas's head. Josh could see it as the boy pulled out his phone and scrolled through one of the screens. "Yeah,' he allowed. "I think it is."

"Don't let her push you around," Josh called as Lucas started to stand. "You're bigger than she is."

"Yo Josh?" The dark-haired man looked up at the retreating teen, watching him smile from the edge of the dance floor. "Thanks, man. I'm glad that Maya'll still have someone here for her."

Josh just tipped his beer in the teens direction, nodding sagely.

He didn't have to wait long to see what Lucas's supposed grand gesture was, watching the man make a straight line to Cory and Shawn, who seemed to be monitoring – or maybe controlling – the music selection. The music was cut, because apparently the concept of subtlety was foreign when it came to teenage friendships, and the latest Pharell hit was replaced by the early sounds of an older pop number.

He had to admit though, the second the first verse started, and Maya realized whatever the new song was supposed to symbolize, the smile that struck her face could have lit the whole of Manhattan.

Lucas got to the bundle of his friends halfway through the bridge, and he sacrificed himself on the altar of dignity to pantomime singing to the short blonde. "I'm not good at making promises."

Shawn seemed to make it to his side of the roof right as Maya began shouting her own lyrics. He wasn't exactly up on One Direction, but Josh wasn't sure he liked where the song was going when the first bar of the chorus was 'If you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms'. "That was a nice thing you did."

The older man handed him another beer bottle, to replace the empty he seemed to be holding since before Lucas had stood, and Josh managed a sip before looking up at his brother's best friend. "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"Riley's been trying to get that smile back on Maya's face for almost three weeks." She and Lucas had gotten their acceptance letters on the exact same day, and the group celebrated their further education, at Yale and Cornell respectively, with an impromptu dinner in SoHo. Neither Shawn nor Josh had been in attendance, but they both had front row seats following to Riley's meltdowns over the fact that Maya was pretending not to be bothered by something. "And you managed to do it with a handful of words and boy band."

"The hero complex is genetic," Josh found himself saying for the second time that night. "And unfortunately, I am helpless against it." Another swig and he whooped along when Will pulled Riley into a twirl, dipping her in the middle of the floor and kissing her nose.

Shawn nodded in agreement. "Effin' Matthews's," he coughed into his bottle. "I didn't want to make it a thing," he started. "I just wanted to let you know that Lucas isn't the only one who's glad that Maya'll have you here in town." He waited a beat. "Riley's only gonna be in New Haven, and there's no way in Hell Cory and I are gonna let her hide, but she needs someone her own age that understands her."

The sound that came out of Josh's mouth was the cross between a laugh and a cough, and he had to tap his sternum for a moment in order to not choke on the air.

The older man arched a brow.

"I think that's the first time someone has ever used 'own age' in the same sentence as Maya and me." He wasn't sure why it was important that he realized it. Hell, Josh wasn't sure why the age difference was even significant anymore.

It was a shame that Hunter had become well equipped to read Matthews men. "Three years looks a hell of a lot different this side of eighteen, doesn't it?"

Josh bit his lip, trying to decide exactly what Shawn was trying to imply. "I hate to break it to you, Shawn, but I stopped seeing the gap long before she crossed off that milestone." It was a sentence that probably would have sent his brother into an epileptic fit if he'd heard.

Six months ago, Shawn might have joined him.

But both of the men sitting on the periphery of the party knew that Josh wasn't speaking romantically, although Maya was a gorgeous girl with a big heart and an infectious attitude. It was just that they were a long way away from the girl that physically fell over herself when he walked into a room and demanded every second of his attention. If he were being honest with himself, Josh would have to admit that he had stopped seeing her as a kid years ago.

Taking a soft swig of his beer, Shawn patted the younger man on the knee. "But like I said," he stood, turning back to where his best friend was twirling his wife by the speakers. "I didn't want to make this a thing."

He was on his feet and a few steps away before Josh coughed again, calling his attention again. "I forgot to ask," he started. "Am I cooler than you yet?"

Shawn cast a look at the teens in the middle of the room, and then turned back to his best friend's brother. "You're getting there."

* * *

"Okay, this is ridiculous."

Three hours later and Josh had officially become the seventh wheel in an amazingly not awkward movie madness session in Shawn's living room.

The party had winded down shortly before eleven – because there were parents there, and no one really wanted to test Shawn's building's noise ordinance. But instead of calling it a night, Maya had begged Shawn for his permission to invade his home and continue this celebration with an all night movie-fest. Of course, Shawn had relented, after extorting the promise that Maya and Riley would clean up after everyone, and absolutely nothing would happen to his couch – there was also something about remembering to re-alphabetize his blu-rays when she was done with them, but that didn't seem important at the time – and Riley had latched herself onto her uncle's arm and pulled her down the stairs with them.

In a valiant display of maturity, and because Farkle accidently pointed out that Maya receiving her letter officially meant that in August their paths officially split for at least the next four years – Riley immediately dove for the cabinet under the mounted 60 inch, and the Disney collection that Shawn refused to admit that he had. They started with the Lion King, and Maya had commandeered Farkle and Will to procure snacks.

They were now twenty minutes into Aladdin, with Zay trying his damnedest to prove to everyone that he was every bit as kooky as the genie, when both Maya and Josh had gotten up to refresh their drinks, doing an odd little dance around each other in Shawn's open kitchen.

And for some odd reason, Josh thought that the best course of action was to play dumb. "What's ridiculous?"

"And now you're trying to be coy?" Maya dropped her mug on the counter and her hands immediately went to her hips.

Josh mimicked her position, smile fully in place. "I was actually going for adorably oblivious," he said with a laugh. When Maya's eyebrow rose, he dropped his arms. "And I still don't know what you think is ridiculous."

"This," Maya used one hand to indicate between the two of them. In the background, Zay was giving a rousing performance of Never Had a Friend Like Me. The only set of eyes that seemed to be aware that they were standing a little too close to each other in the kitchen belonged to Lucas. "Us," she reiterated. "Had I known that kissing you on New Years would give us five months of awkwardness, I would have just let you be that weird voyeur that creeped out the couples."

"In my defense, it wasn't the kiss that caused this." He stepped even closer to her, for no other reason than to allow him to lower his voice. "You didn't get weird until I said that you weren't horrible, and Cory interrupted your do-over."

She didn't deny it. If anything, Maya seemed a little surprised that he was so blunt about it. "Still," she shook her head, throwing a look to the living room. They weren't being watched anymore. Josh tried not to figure out why that was. "This awkwardness sucks, and it needs to stop."

He saluted, two fingers from his temple as he reached around her for the coffee pot.

"Seriously Matthews," Maya stepped to the right, and Josh found himself in a semi-awkward dance.

"I am being serious," Josh bumped her to the left so he could pour himself more coffee. "The kiss was impulsive, so was my comment. Neither one of us meant anything by it." Maya nodded along with him. "And you just made up with your boyfriend, so I think you need to get back in there and enjoy the movie with your friends."

She sputtered, not sure which one of his comments to attack first. "You're my friend too," Maya started. "And Lucas is not my boyfriend."

Again Josh was aware that they had the blonde's attention. "If that's what you need to tell yourself." He coughed, grabbing another bag of gummies from the counter and turning back to the living room.

"That wouldn't happen to be jealousy, would it?" She'd poured her own coffee, and grabbed the king sized Reese's cup that Shawn tried to hide in the freezer, before following after him.

"Absolutely not." The look on Josh's face was more amused than anything else. Then his brow furrowed. "You know I'm still too old for you, Maya."

She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Just how many more miles do you really think you have left on that phrase?"

He ignored her, dropping himself on the reclined end piece of Shawn's leather sectional. The gummies opened louder than expected, and Riley popped up out of nowhere to grab a handful, biting one's head off before sliding back down onto the piles of blankets that served as her and Will's pallet. He would have to remember to lie to his brother in the morning about how Maya and Riley slept in her room.

Not even bothering to be subtle, Maya climbed over the arm of the couch that Josh was leaning against – instead of stepping over her best friend and Will, so Josh at least got to pretend she was being considerate – and settled herself in the corner piece, practically laying on top of poor Lucas. He didn't protest at all, just sliding her over to the left to make sure he could still see over the top of her head and reach his popcorn.

They shared a look over the top of blonde hair,

"You could always have my job." Lucas offered nowhere near helpfully.

Josh was suddenly glad that the only light in the room was what was emanating from the television set. It made it so much easier to appear nonchalant when Maya looked from the man she was using as her pillow to Josh and back again. She quirked one eyebrow, and then the other, and Josh did nothing more than shove a gummy bear into his mouth. It also gave him the opportunity to watch how Lucas managed to calm her nerves and give nothing away with a hand to the back of her neck.

Whatever it was between those two, Josh didn't want to be the guy that tried to actually date Maya in the future. It was entirely possible that they would go their separate romantic ways through college, and never find each other again – at least in that way – but those two had something that he couldn't quite name.

And how could someone compete with that?

He shook his head at last, his eyes catching Lucas's. "All yours, man." He saluted the teen with his mug before taking a sip.


	10. Part VII: I Have This Friend

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 2,434  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Despite the promise that he made to his brother and Shawn, it takes six weeks after orientation before he actually sees Maya again on campus.

It's a Delta Lambda Phi Saturday night kegger, which when he thinks about it isn't that different from their Friday night keggers, and Josh is only there to make sure that his roommate doesn't do anything that may result in Josh needing a new one. He's two seconds away from changing his mind and just leaving Austin there when he hears a giggle and he doesn't need to turn around to know whom it belongs to.

"There are two men who would literally have my balls if they knew you were here."

He sits down on the arm of the chair she's currently occupying, watching her blink -just once- before looking up at him from the rims of glasses that he didn't know she needed. "I won't tell if you won't." She gives her head a little shake, and he can't help but smile at her.

The room is in full-on party mode. The music is too loud, and the furniture has been pushed back to make room for dancing - if the grinding happening in the middle of the room constitutes dancing. She most likely just sat down a few moments ago, and he smiles at the fact that her cheeks are flushed. There's a couple making out on the long couch adjacent to her, but Maya doesn't seem to notice, or she's just better at actively ignoring them than he is.

"How many of those have you had?" It's the kind of question that his brother and Shawn would require him to ask.

Maya just laughs. "I've had one vodka cran." She informs him lightly, and Josh notes that her eyes are wide and her smile bright, and she doesn't look the least bit drunk. "This is just cran." When he tilts his head closer to her, she nods in the direction of the keg in the corner. "Sasha just broke up with her boyfriend. It's my job to make sure she goes back to her room alone."

"Your first college party and you're designatedly sober." He pushes a low whistle from between his teeth, and Maya rolls her eyes. "That has to suck for you."

"Who said this is my first college party?" The couple on the couch next to them has begun removing each other's clothes, and Maya can't help her snort now. Maybe she's not as good as he thought.

"You wanna get out of here?" There's half a second before he realizes exactly what he sounds like, and that it's the reason that she smiles despite her cocked eyebrow. "Outside or something." He clarifies quickly. "Where there's less noise."

She downs the rest of her solo cup, dropping it into another on the table before pulling herself to her feet. In the sea of miniskirts and strapless dresses, he's actually kind of amazed that he didn't notice her sooner in her dark wash jeans and oversized t-shirt falling off one shoulder. Her hair flips over her shoulder of its own accord. "Ya know," her eyes flit around the room, and he notices that her friend has moved on to beer pong. "I think I'm good here."

They make eye contact, her smile bright and teasing, before she moves gracefully through the sea of bodies to the other side of the room.

He had to admit that over the course of Maya and Riley's friendship, he had had the privilege of watching Maya in a variety of situations. There had been parties, interactions with street vendors, and even school social situations. The difference between then and now was the fact that almost all of the previous contained, at least, one of her longtime friends. There had been the odd time or two when it was just her and one of the parents – shopping with Cory for Riley's birthday present comes to mind, when the elder Matthews brother invited them both because what the hell was he supposed to buy his daughter when he refused to acknowledge that she was actually turning seventeen? – but they had never actually done anything alone.

Josh couldn't help the smile when she refused to play beer pong – on account that she had to actually remain sober enough to make decent life decisions – until her friend offered to drink for her. Then it was like a switch was flipped, and Maya was bouncing all over the place, flirting with the two guys on the other end of the table as they attempted their shots. She danced around the table in victory, hair falling out of its effortless updo.

When she was in high school, her laugher was contagious, her sarcasm easy. As a college student, able to redefine herself without Riley or Lucas or even Farkle, everything was amplified. She truly was in her element, and Josh understood that he had officially become the creepy guy at the party because he couldn't tear his eyes away from her taunting ecstasy.

And her energy never seemed to wane.

Two hours later Josh marveled as Maya put Sasha and another young woman that he didn't know in a cab – paying the cabbie and giving him the address so the second young woman wouldn't have to while juggling a drunk Sasha - and stepping back up onto the sidewalk. She runs a hand through her hair, pulling the pins out as she goes, before double checking her cash situation and leaning back against a lamppost.

"Feel like sharing a cab?" He's startled her. It doesn't take him looking directly at her for him to know it.

But being Maya Hart apparently has its benefits, and he watches as it takes her less than a second to straighten, and all traces of being tired are suddenly gone. "You do realize that this makes the third time you've hit on me tonight?"

"Second," Josh steps closer to her, shrugging off his jacket because it may be the end of September in New York City, but there's no way that the thin knitted shawl she called a sweater was keeping her any kind of warm. "Neither of which was intentional."

She takes the coat with a smile, slipping her arms through the sleeves and nodding appreciatively. "I'll make sure to remember that when I tell Riley about it later today." It was well past two in the morning, but her lip quirks with as much energy as she's ever had.

Josh steps into the street carefully, raising his hand in the universal signal for 'taxi.' "That mean you'll let me make sure you get home safely?" He asks without looking at her.

"It means I'll let you pay for a cab ride home." Maya doesn't need to tell him that she had originally just planned on taking the subway. She has her headphones stashed in her strapless bra, and pepper spray on the lanyard disguised as a necklace tucked into her shirt. She's lived in this city her entire life, and she's yet to find a reason to be afraid of it.

He catches her smile out of the corner of his eye, and Josh finds that he doesn't care if he's matching it when the next cab pulls up. "I'm doing this for Cory and Shawn." He announces as she pushes off the pole and joins him on the street, waiting patiently for him to open the door.

"Sure you are," she scoots all the way to the other side of the cab instead of forcing him to walk around, which he appreciates, before leaning forward to address the cabbie. "TriBeCa, 8 Beach."

"I could have sworn that we moved you into a Residence Hall before Orientation?" It's posed as a question because there are a lot of things that could have come up in six weeks. The possibility that her financial aid package turned out to not include room and board is a little too real. The last thing he wants to do is point out something bad.

Maya nods, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "The girl on the couch," she makes a vague gesture, and Josh shakes his head, clearly not understanding. "When you first found me." It all clicks then, as the image of the groping couple comes into focus. "My roommate Sarah." Maya's eyebrow seems to twitch and she shudders. "I'm not taking the chance of going home to that."

"So instead you're invading Shawn's?"

"He's in L.A. trying not to murder Jack's wife." Maya's not entirely sure what family occasion they're supposed to be celebrating, and she seems to convey that with a look. "And I can't remember if Mom's home this weekend or not." If she were home, Katy would still have the Sunday Matinée that she would need to be up at eight in the morning to prepare for. There was no way that Maya would want to chance screwing up her mother's sleep schedule.

They're stopped at a light when Josh realizes that he hadn't formulated a response yet. "How's NYU been treating you?"

There's that look again; the one that says that Maya's trying too damn hard not to be entertained by something. "It's great, Aunt Getrude!" Even the cabbie laughs, and Josh pushes his tongue to the roof of his mouth to keep from snapping back at her. "My profs aren't scary at all, and I get to paint all day!"

Josh just levels his eyes at her. He deserved that one.

"I'm taking mostly gen ed." Maya shifts her hips and turns, her boots suddenly on his side of the cab. "So other than the fact that I don't have to be up by 'oh-dear-God-is-that-an-actual-time' thirty to get to class, it's a bit like high school."

"And you get to bring your breakfast to lectures." Josh finished for her.

"Definite plus." There was a pause before Maya tilted her head. "Cory says you and Austin are getting a divorce."

Josh has had three serious girlfriends in his residency in New York City. None of them has managed to last more than a few months. Naturally Maya took this to mean that he was in the closet with his roommate. Or at least that's the myth she keeps insisting on.

The usual response consisted of Josh pointing out that jealously didn't look good on her.

Tonight, he just laughed.

"Austin's entertaining Palo Alto job offers," Josh corrected. He'd had the privilege of rooming with the same Information Technologies major for the last four years. It came with the perk of some decent free apps on his phone, but definitely sucked when graduation came around and you knew they were moving where the money was. "So I've started looking for apartments."

Maya tisks and shrugs as if to say 'it's the same thing.' "How's Amy feel about you not going back to Philly after graduation?"

It doesn't even seem to register anymore that Maya refers to his mother by her first name – even to her face. He's still willing to bet cash money that it never even occurred to her to call her something different. "Three out of four kids she's raised already have permanent residences here." He wasn't counting himself in that one, seeing as though he and Austin were still living in a New York University sponsored residence hall. He also didn't have to tell her that Shawn was amongst the kids that Amy claimed as her own. "And she's seen the contract I stand to get with SOM." With his class schedule thinning out in his last semester of college, being picked up as a full-time employee of the top architecture firm in the nation has become more of an actual prospect. The intern supervisor dropped the packet for applying for the junior architect position on his desk at the beginning of the school year, reminding him that the sooner he applies, the higher his chances. "Philly can't offer me that."

"There's a lot of things New York offers that you can't get in Philly." They'd come to a stop on her street now, and the cabbie pulled over as far as he could get to allow other cars to pass beside them.

Josh shifted his gaze to Maya's eyes, his lips quirking. "Is this you hitting on me now?"

There was a moment when neither one spoke before Josh reached behind him for the handle, signaling for the cabbie to wait as he let Maya out.

"I think you partied a little too hard tonight, Joshua." On the street, Maya shrugged out of his jacket, handing it back absently. "But I will thank you for your chivalry."

"I guess it'll have to do."

There really was no way that Josh could have known that Maya was going to pop up to kiss him on the cheek. Later he would chalk the fact that his hand was already on her hip to steady her to reflex.

Her smile was wide when she stepped back, running a hand through her hair and pulling the lanyard that contained her keys – all four of them each painted a different color – from her shirt.

"I'd invite you up, but-" her thumb is already pointing in the direction of the building even as her lip quirks. "You already said a 'thank you' was enough."

Their smiles match again, Josh understanding perfectly that she's making fun of him for the fact that he insisted on riding with her back to the apartment instead of just putting her in her own cab.

"That's number two." He reminds her, holding up the appropriate number of fingers.

Her hair flips over her shoulder, and Josh isn't sure when it got long enough to brush her elbows. "It's really not," she turns slightly, giving him a nod. "Besides, you're too old for me."

The last time that sentence was uttered, four months ago in the very apartment that Maya was now walking backwards toward, Josh knew that there was limited mileage on it. Maya's crush on him had waned – drastically – in the four years it took to get through high school, and other than harmless flirting, the issue had never actually been broached since that party her eighth grade year.

It didn't stop him from pausing when it left her lips, though, hand immediately popping up to rub his chin.

She was already in the building when he realized that he hadn't given her a response, and as he dropped himself back into the cab, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 **TY again.** Maya had signed it with the kissy face emoji.

After giving the address to his residency hall to the cabbie, Josh looked at his phone again.

 **There's a place on Spring that does breakfast burritos all day. Best hangover food ever.**

 **For your friend.**


	11. Interlude: Friends On the Other Side

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,201  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

 **You were right about that place on Spring.**

Two weeks after Maya had last spoken to Josh, and that was definitely not the sentence that she thought would break the silence.

Not that the silence had been imposed on purpose.

And now she was thinking too much for a Sunday morning.

"There's no way your hangover caused that face." Lucas rolled over on the bed and took another sip of his coffee. He still wasn't dressed – which was something that would only bother Shawn if he was actually home – and Maya took a moment to marvel at the fact that the boy who hadn't managed to play a single college sport still managed to look so good. When the arm she didn't notice reached out to tap her chin, she jumped. "And you missed half of what I just said, didn't you?"

"If you have to ask that question," Maya kicked her shoes off and pulled her feet onto the bed with the rest of her body. "Then you are seriously losing your touch." She didn't even bother to point out that it was almost eleven A.M. on a Sunday, and she'd been up and about for the last hour and a half while he hadn't moved.

It was probably for the best that they hadn't told Riley that Lucas was driving in the day before. Less damage that way.

Then it occurred to her that it was entirely likely that she had posted the sideways image of the two empty shot glasses that she had taken last night.

She'd worry about that later.

Lucas reached for his boxers and laughed when Maya exaggeratedly pretended to cover her eyes with spread fingers. "What's got your brain going so hard?"

Her lip quirked. "I just realized that this is the first time I've talked to Josh since the Delta Lambda Phi thing."

"And this bothers you?" Lucas ran a hand through his hair, knowing the second he saw his Mama he was going to be headed down to Fleischman's faster than Maya could make fun of him for it. It was probably a good thing that she was under the impression that he was heading into town for his fall break a day later than he actually did as well.

But he was supposed to be focused on Maya, and her focus on Josh Matthews. Which wasn't a sentence that he had ever really had the privilege of thinking to himself before. "The Matthews 'Welcome Home Riley' thing is tonight; I'm sure Josh'll be there." He pulled on the jeans that he'd grabbed out of his weekend bag, leaving the button undone so he could shuffle to the bathroom for a shower.

Her phone chimed, and Maya rolled her eyes as she reached for it.

 **Lemme guess, U went 'Around the World' with SLB last night?**

That had been an option that Maya had considered when Lucas told her that he was coming in early to get some time with her before the Riley arrived. Then she realized that Shawn had restocked the liquor cabinet before he took off for his trip upstate, and turning a Disney movie marathon into a drinking game was so much more satisfying than going Greek.

 **Huckleberry got in early.**

She shook her head when she felt compelled to add.

 **The RileyTown Express arrives today & we thought pregaming was best.**

"It doesn't bother me." Her tone was off, but Lucas decided to ignore it in favor of brushing his teeth. How Maya managed to be showered and dressed an hour and a half before actually waking him up – after drinking more than he did thank you very much – was a mystery to him. If she hadn't been on the quest for food that she didn't have to make herself, he might even say it was unnatural.

"You sure about that?" Lucas watched as she leaned back on the bed in order to catch his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Her phone chirped again, this time the sound of pixie dust being scattered spreading through the room, and his eyes met hers. "I am not bothered by the fact that I haven't spoken to Josh in two weeks." She shook her head. Having male friends was exhausting sometimes. "Riley made it on the train," she pulled her lip between her teeth and shook her head, "it's just weird. I mean, I literally had a conversation with Farkle about teeth last week," and for the record, she still didn't know how that happened. "And I haven't texted Josh once."

The shower turned on as her phone vibrated, Lucas smiling slowly before turning and shedding his pants again. "Farkle probably started that conversation," he shouted over the water. It wasn't until he was actually in the shower that he realized that his toiletries were still in the bag in his truck. He'd really have to hope that no one noticed that he smelled like pumpkin icing until he could get into another shower. At least, it wouldn't be the first time. "How often do you actually see Josh?"

"Not very," Maya wandered into the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and turning the tap on to wet it as she applied paste. "He's on the A and S campus, and I'm on Steinhardt most of the time." There was also the fact that she was taking general education courses, and Josh was in the middle of his second to last semester majoring in both Environmental Policy and Management and Urban Design and Architecture Studies. And that was on top of his paid internship with Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill.

If it weren't for the fact that they both tended to appear at Thursday dinner at his brother's house – something Maya had managed to miss the last few weeks due to her Discrete Mathematics study group running long – she probably wouldn't see him at all.

Maya spit and rinsed and shook her head again. "It's just weird."

"Then change it." Yeah, he wasn't going to be able to mask the pumpkin smell. It didn't matter if he had his cologne in his bag or not. "We've got that dinner thing on Tuesday." Riley had demanded they do something 'just us kids' when arrangements were being made for their very first fall break as college students, and Maya pretty much just linked the brunette into her Google calendar and told her to have fun. "Why don't you see if he wants to join."

 **Ur Sat night was definitely better than mine was.**

Josh's response was accompanied by a picture of his Urban Anthropology textbook resting against the stack of books that he had apparently collected for his senior thesis and a notebook with scribbles and doodles of architectural elements sharing the same space as a coffee cup. It was probably the same shot that he had posted on his Instagram – because apparently there was one Matthews that understood the hipster aesthetic – but Maya wasn't about to open her feed and check.

She'd just wind up absently scrolling anyway.

 **My Sun morning is better than urs 2.**

It didn't need the three smiley faces that she sent afterward, but they made Maya feel better about the implied message.

"I don't know how to tell you," Maya allowed herself to sink into Lucas's arms when he came back into the room, jeans buttoned and towel hanging over his shoulder, pulling her into a hug and dropping his chin on the top of her head to read her phone. She tilted slightly, most likely giving him an excellent view of her cleavage while she tried to meet his eyes. "But you smell like girl."

Lucas snagged a quick kiss before reaching over to her bureau, grabbing a plain white shirt and his Cornell hoodie before kicking it closed. "I didn't need you to tell me this." He shrugged the shirt on and downed the rest of his coffee before turning back to her. "So, how much is it gonna cost me to pry your sudden interest in Josh Matthews out of you?"

Her eye roll was almost all he needed to see. "First of all," she turned herself on the bed in order to make sure she was facing him.

"It's not sudden," Lucas had to try not to smile at her as her mouth caught at his interruption. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you've been crushing on him for, like, six years."

"I have not!" Maya tossed one of her pillows in his general direction. "Two at the most," she corrected with a point. "And those two years are well behind me, thank you very much!" Lucas's laugh wasn't fooled though, and she shook her head as he dropped the pillow back onto the bed. With a grin like that, Maya was incredibly curious as to why he hadn't found someone up at Cornell to replace her. She dismissed the thought with a shake of her head. "As I recall, you were still hung up on Riley back then."

He deserved that one. Lucas wasn't even going to pretend that he didn't. "We weren't talking about me here." She wasn't listening, staring at him with a grin on her own face, yes, but definitely not listening. "And you're absolutely right, you are no longer crushing on Josh Matthews." He dropped back down onto the bed, his arms bracing on her legs. "You've been able to form complete sentences for years now."

"Screw you." Maya stood, sliding out from under Lucas's weight easily.

He gestured to the bed with a mischievous grin, earning another pillow to the face for his troubles.

* * *

"Peaches!"

Maya didn't even bother to close the front door behind herself, choosing instead to slide right into her best friend's arms. "Honey!"

She caught a glimpse of her best friend's father, vaguely gesturing to the door she had just come through with an exasperated grin. Corey hadn't really expected anything else for the first time the girls had gotten to see each other since Labor Day Weekend, which directly followed the week they moved Riley to New Haven in August. Even with Maya going to France that summer, it was honestly the longest the girls had been apart since they were children.

If Cory had to help heat the hallway for a few minutes in order to see their smiles, it was worth it.

There were a few more minutes of squealing, followed by an odd hug dance that included a hop or two before the girls separated, looking directly at each other before turning away and flipping their hair over their shoulder at the same time. "Stop it!"

"I love your skirt." Maya motioned for Riley to twirl, the hem of her tassel maxi skirt only rising slightly. "A new secondhand place opened up on Miller, and we are definitely hitting it while you're home." She finally backtracked to the door, kicking it closed and shrugging off her jacket. "How you doin' Matthews?"

"Not too bad," Cory held up a coffee cup with a smile. "Topanga bought that fruity stuff you told her about. If you're interested."

Maya's eyes were bright. "The chocolate raspberry?" She didn't even wait for Cory to nod. "Yes please!"

Riley followed her best friend into the kitchen, hopping up onto the counter next to the coffee maker while Maya poured them both mugs, one mixed with milk and sugar, the other with a dab of liquid creamer. She handed the first mug to her best friend. "Sip, and tell me that this isn't the best thing you've ever had in your mouth."

They shared a glance for a moment before Riley followed instructions and took a long sip. She nodded appreciatively, "Where's Lucas?"

So she _did_ post that picture. She took another sip of her coffee to aid her in resisting the urge to check to see what caption she'd included with it. "On his way to Fleischman's," she shrugged, "I think." Another sip and she turned, dropping herself on the bench seat of the kitchen table. "Once he left the apartment, it was no longer in my hands."

The noise that came from Cory's mouth was most definitely unnatural, and Maya used her coffee cup to try to hide her laugh. "He was home before lunch," she noted quickly. "So Mama Friar is going to let him make an appearance for your 'Welcome Home' thing."

Riley's 'yay' was much less subdued due to her position on the counter, and the mug in her hands. But it was worth noting that it was just as enthusiastic. "We won't see Will until tomorrow, though." Her voice was soft, and she didn't have to tell Maya that it was because technically his break didn't begin until after his class the next day – in which the prof had anticipated truancy and scheduled an exam.

"That asshole!" There was a muffled response to Maya's outburst, and she couldn't help the laugh that came with Cory's reminder to watch her language. "He's coming to the thing on Tuesday though, right?"

It didn't take a moment before Riley started nodding emphatically. "And his parents have invited me to dinner tomorrow night."

"Which means I have to entertain myself for a while," her phone appeared then, inquiring about an invitation to the Friar's Monday night dinner while Riley was otherwise engaged. It was entirely possible that she wouldn't have gotten the smart remark back from Lucas if she hadn't put it exactly that way. "I'm sure I can manage."

"Carol Anne does enjoy feeding you." The clarification was most likely for her father's benefit, but Riley sent a warning look at her best friend anyway. While it was entertaining to watch the pained smile stay on her father's face Riley did just get home, and there was no reason waste all the innuendo at once.

Heels on wood announced Topanga, jacket over one arm, descending from the upper level. "Well, good afternoon stranger."

Maya waved the hand holding the coffee mug when her phone buzzed again.

 **Mind asking my SIL if she needs me 2 bring anything 2 this shindig?**

The smile that crossed her face was emphatic. It wasn't supposed to be surprising that he knew she was already at the Matthew's place. "Josh wants to know if he needs to bring anything."

 **I didn't realize I was predictable.** Maya typed back before she could stop herself.

There was definite side-eye from her best friend as Topanga seemed to consider Maya's statement. "Tell him I'll give him cab fare if he'll run by and grab some more sodas." Topanga was sliding on her jacket, flipping her hair from underneath the collar. "Auggie's at Dewy's, I'm going to grab the cake, please don't make your father's ears bleed talking about boys." She paused on their side of the table, dropping a kiss on each girl's forehead. "And if Stewarts asks, he and Jennifer don't need to bring nothing but themselves tonight." Topanga was halfway out the door before she backtracked. "And if any Sixpoint happens to make its way into the house tonight, please make sure that it arrives with more Solo cups so I can pretend that my girls are the sweet, innocent young ladies that I raised."

And she was gone.

 **T asked 4 more soda & cups.** Riley was over her shoulder now, and Maya was grateful that her keyboard was up so she couldn't see any of their earlier conversation. Her reasoning behind that relief was to be examined later. Preferably when she was alone. She skipped over the request for the alcohol in favor of asking for chocolate and Pixie Sticks. Despite her sometimes poor impulse control, Maya was perfectly capable of enjoying her first night with her best friend in seven weeks without being buzzed.

His response was almost instant, and Maya had to wonder if Matthews had been waiting for her to answer back. **Yes to the soda, yes to the chocolate. How bad do you want the pixie sticks?**

Maya sent him back a picture of her pouting and shoved her phone back in her pocket. "So how are we going to entertain ourselves until party time?"

* * *

Ten minutes to midnight and Maya was definitely glad that she didn't have to worry about classes in the morning. She and Riley were curled up on the fire escape, watching the city that never slept in the cool October air.

"It's not as hard as I thought it would be." Riley was wrapped in the afghan that her Aunt Nebby had sent her as a graduation present. She took a sip of her hot chocolate and smiled. "College."

Maya nodded along with her best friend, tucking her feet back under her own blanket, draped over her legs because she had managed to steal Lucas's Cornell hoodie again during the party. "Speak for yourself Honey, I'm taking two math's next semester." It had more to do with her low SAT scores, which required her to take a remedial math in order to be able to take the required courses, but Maya liked to blame it on NYU.

"Yeah, but you're going to frat parties and study groups, and you don't have a single class that starts before ten." They both had Josh to thank for that bit of Freshman advice, promising them not nearly as many burnt out mornings if they picked the later blocks. The taller girl stretched her toes out to bump her best friend in the hip. "And all those artsy friends that blow up your Facebook feed."

"Says the latest Kappa Kappa Gamma pledge!" Maya may or may not have spilled a bit of her own hot chocolate on herself as she bumped Riley back. She licked her hand just in case. "Don't think I didn't notice that. Your dad's been complaining about the potential cost of Rush for the last week."

Yale Rush wasn't until the spring, but Riley had begun to look into sororities and extracurriculars the first day of orientation. Her mother said it would help her make friends and avoid homesickness. Maya had reminded her of all the fun she'd had in high school and how much free time she'd be able to create since she wasn't still on her cheerleading schedule. Riley was about to remind the blonde that she'd promised to at least join one club before the girl in question's phone buzzed, rattling the metal underneath them.

"Lucas or Josh?"

Maya grabbed for the device, thumbing it open and pulling up her texts. "Farkle." She turned the phone around for Riley to see, the image of their friend brushing his teeth dominating the screen. "One of my profs has an exhibit at the Whitney that I wanted to check out, and since you're with Will tomorrow, he offered to go with." She took a quick picture of her and Riley's mugs and set the phone back down. "You said you didn't want to go."

"It's fine," and it was because she needed some time with her boyfriend, and like her, Farkle was only in town for a week before he had to return to Stanford and the challenging world of academia.

It was her tone that worried Maya, who pushed her phone and mug further out of the way so she could squeeze up to her best friend. "You and I have the mani pedi's on Tuesday, and the Hepburn movie fest at the student union Friday afternoon." Her phone seemed to buzz in agreement, and Maya seemed to not notice it.

Riley shook her head. "Can I ask you something?"

Draping her blanket over her best friend's feet, Maya nodded. "Of course you can."

"How do you handle it?" There wasn't a subject in that sentence, and Riley seemed to realize it only after Maya's eyebrows touched. "Missing Lucas."

For a moment, Maya wondered if she and Lucas had to get 'we're not dating' tattooed on their foreheads for their friends to believe them. "Its helps that we're not involved like that." Maya brushed the hair off of her friend's cheek and kiss it, pulling Riley closer to her. "And modern technology means that I talk to him as often as I talk to you."

There were Skype sessions three times a week, and random text message throughout the day. Lucas talked her through a panic attack when she realized that trying to get more involved with the art department at school meant less hours at Topanga's which would mean that she would need to talk to her mother and Shawn about money. There was also the random vaguely dirty picture to keep her motivated to go for runs by herself, or to get up on Saturday mornings for the spin class she agreed to take with Topanga.

But Riley's brain seemed to stop on her first sentence. "He came home a day early just so he could spend time with you." The brunette snaked a hand out of her blanket so she could take another sip of her drink. "How can you not be 'like that'?"

"He would have done the same thing if it were you or Farkle or Zay." She paused, remembering their loquacious friend who seemed to get himself roped into going camping with his cousins for fall break. "Well, maybe not Zay." Riley's smile was indulgent, and Maya shook her head. "Shawn's upstate and Mom's in Chicago." She wasn't entirely sure if she meant the state, or the show, but both meant that she was out of town. "He came home early because I made a joke about spending another night in an empty house alone. Hopalong's sweet like that." Neither one of them had slept with anyone since they'd spent Labor Day weekend at the Minkus beach house, but Riley still seemed to get a little twitchy about sex.

Then something in her clicked, and she kissed Riley's cheek again.

"Is this about me and Lucas, or you and Will?"

Maya hadn't been the only relationship that Riley had left on the island, with Will attending Columbia pre-med, it meant that he too was hours away from her for extended periods of time. He'd done what any good boyfriend would do though, and Maya had turned down an invitation at least twice a month to ride with him up to visit his girlfriend. He'd even gotten a hotel room so she wouldn't have to worry about begging her roommate to letting him sleep on the floor.

And not once did he mention the fact that they still hadn't slept together.

Maybe Maya should have asked for that alcohol after all.

"Will adores you, Honey." She wondered if she could reach her phone and send off a quick message to the man in question. "I wouldn't be here if I had an exam in Organic Chem either." Both girls paused, and Maya shrugged. "Or if I was _in_ Organic Chem."

A smile tugged at Riley's lips and Maya scrunched her nose. "What happens when he decides that driving to New Haven just to take me to dinner isn't enough?"

"I'll kick his ass." The words came quickly, and both of them knew that it wasn't realistic. "Not that that's going to happen." She took a breath, pushing her breath out just to see the wisps float from her mouth. "What you and Will have isn't about sex, it's about love, and that means that if you two want to make it work, it will." There was a moment when Maya wished that she could voice that she wished she had that. "You're Cory and Topanga, I wouldn't be surprised if fifteen years from now _your_ kid isn't trying to make her own way in the world like you did."

"You're gonna have to have one too, to show mine the ropes." It was a weak joke, and Maya hugged her friend tighter.

"Don't worry about how many years you'll get with Will," she said after a moment, completely bypassing the idea of her having a child of her own. "You make the time you get count."

Riley wiped her nose and turned in her best friend's arms. "Like you and Lucas?"

The eye roll was second nature to her, and she gave Riley a gentle shove as she reached for her mug again. "You realize that just this morning he was trying to convince me to make a move on Josh?" It wasn't exactly how the conversation went, but Riley didn't have to know that.

The younger girl shuttered, shaking her head. "I still don't want you to be my aunt."


	12. Part VIII: The Story of Tonight

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,135  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is in his Senior year at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either. This chapter also makes more than a few references to the Broadway hit _Hamilton_ by the ever talented Lin-Manuel Miranda. I don't own it, but I LOVE IT

* * *

It was entirely possible that Joshua Matthews was hallucinating.

He didn't usually go out with his friends on Sunday nights. Putting in double duty at work and school usually meant that Sunday nights were catch up for schoolwork and gave him a day to prep for whatever the next week as a junior architect intern was going to throw at him. And since he'd had the last week off of school for fall break, that meant jumping head first into his thesis prep while picking up extra hours at S.O.M.

He was still marveling at the fact that his was a paid internship, after all.

But Fall Break coincided with Columbus Day this year, which meant that he had neither work nor school to worry about in the morning, so it was okay to pretend that he didn't have any obligations looming.

And it wasn't like they hadn't been planning this night for quite a few months.

It had been Christian's idea really, He'd been dating Allison for a little over four months, and she'd been over at the apartment that Austin and Josh shared for their usual Wednesday night cram session. When her uncle called. He was a Marketing Officer for the Richard Rogers Theater and he'd heard that Hamilton – a favorite of hers since she was in high school – was coming back to Broadway and he was able to go ahead and book some tickets if she was interested.

After half an hour of squealing, Christian had taken it upon himself to text half a dozen friends and begin the process of what Austin had immediately started referring to as the 'Mass Date.'

Naturally they'd all made cracks about how awkward it was going to be when Allie dumped Christian's ass before the show, but no one was actually serious. Allie didn't make it any better, stating numerous times that she'd deal with most of her ex-boyfriends if it meant mid-orchestra center seating to the brilliance that was Lin-Manuel Miranda.

As the date got closer, the plan solidified further. Since it was a seven o'clock showing, they'd all meet for drinks at Bar Seven Five down on Wall Street. An hour or so to allow everyone to congregate, and then they would take cabs to the theater. After the show, they'd catch a late dinner at the NoMad before all heading their own ways.

They'd all dressed up for it, too. The girls even scheduling a spa day, although Josh was more than willing to bet that that had more to do with the fact that Allison and her best friend Hope were always looking for an excuse to pamper themselves.

It was to be considered their last hurrah before everyone bunkered down for their thesis research and final semester of NYU.

Which could be why Josh was seeing things right now.

Maybe he really was working too hard.

"Dude," Austin leaned closer to him at their table, nodding toward the entrance. "Is that Maya?"

While it wasn't the exact words that he had been using in his mind, Josh seemed to nod anyway, his eyes still on the door where Maya Hart was apparently telling the hostess that she was meeting friends and gesturing vaguely towards the back of the bar.

Allison's head perked at the sound of the younger girl's name, and she hopped up, tugging at the bottom of her cocktail dress as she waved an arm above her head. "Over here!" She clapped her hands together before skirting her boyfriend and meeting Maya halfway to the table. "I'm so glad you made it!"

The girl in question smiled slowly, allowing Allison to help remove her wrap, doe eyes still taking in the eight other people at the table. While most of the other ladies had decided that this was an upscale event, with the exception of Hope, who seemed to have thought that dressing up meant a lace slip dress that Josh was pretty sure was meant for the bedroom, Maya seemed to err on the side of caution. Her dress was a very dark green, draped and made of some sort of silky jersey material. It wasn't short, the hem stopping just below her knee. The cowl neck dipped low enough to hint at her cleavage, and the dress itself was sophisticatedly tight, paired with a dark belt and minimal jewelry. Her heels were killer, as per usual for the blonde, giving her, at least, five inches as well as allowing her to display her calves.

He'd seen Maya Hart dressed up and dressed down. From pj's and gym days to homecoming dances and prom. She'd been sophisticated and playful, laughing it up with Riley and innocently sultry hanging on Lucas's arm. But it was entirely possible that he had never seen her so uniquely mature. If he wasn't distinctly aware of her nervous lopsided grin, he could make an argument that the woman in front of him wasn't Maya Hart.

"You look fantastic!" Allie draped the wrap over the back of her boyfriend's chair, giving Maya a true once-over. "We are totally going to have to talk about what you're hiding in your closet!"

Maya's smile seemed to be frozen in place as she nodded along with the older woman, her golden waves bouncing lightly in it's messy braided chignon. "Are you sure I'm okay?" Blue eyes cast a quick glance around the table at the various cocktail dresses. "You said 'classic blind date', but I've never had one of those, so I just kinda guessed."

Austin joined them then, offering Maya his tall chair. "We'll keep you." He gave her a quick hug, whispering assurances in her ear. "Can I grab you a drink?"

"Sure, surprise me," her smile popped, and Josh had to resist the urge to remind Austin that she still had two years to go before drinking in public was legal. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Instead, he took a long sip of his Bluepoint, allowing the beer to sit on his tongue a moment before swallowing. "What are you doing here?"

Yeah, that wasn't exactly what he had wanted to say.

But at least the nervous gleam in her eyes seemed to fade. "Al called when Will and I were putting Riles on her train at Penn." The redhead in question winked at them over the rim of her Manhattan. "She said you guys had an extra ticket if I could get here in time for drinks."

And now Josh got to marvel at the fact that his nieces train was set to depart a little over two hours ago, which meant that the blonde in front of him had concocted her current look in less than an hour. He knew enough about the preparation tactics of women to know that that was pretty impressive.

"I had no idea you were a Hamilton fan," he commented instead, taking another quick sip of his beer.

"You've got to be kidding." Allie seemed to change seats with Christian in an instant. Or rather, she climbed over her boyfriend. "New Years?" Josh's blank stare was all she needed to roll her eyes. "She and Riley did the entirety of Non-Stop in the elevator on the way to the limo." It seemed that Maya too had almost forgotten about that particular moment. Her smile was a little less proud than Allie's. "Her date was horrified."

" _Riley's_ date was horrified." And suddenly Josh could see Will trying to step away from the group, Riley's clutch tucked under his arm. He and Smackle were the only two of the high schoolers that didn't seem caught up in the moment. "Lucas was just the right side of buzzed to join in as Washington."

He didn't need to ask why she was extremely proud of that.

And the tall blonde stepping up to Maya's Hamilton snapped into focus. "Now I remember," how could he possibly have forgotten it? "I was in the back with Will, pretending not to know you."

It was Maya's turn to wink, reaching past his beer to relieve him of his water glass. "Your loss."

"So Maya," Richard's date – whose name escaped Josh at the moment – leaned into the table, Cosmo in hand. "Does your boyfriend go to NYU?" Apparently it didn't need to be said that Maya was a student there. Perhaps Allie had sought the approval of the girls before offering Maya the extra ticket.

Her head shook slightly, and she took a slow sip of the glass. "I don't have one of those."

He was almost tempted to point out the man they were just discussing, who, if memory served, wasn't heading back to Ithaca until late Monday afternoon.

"How in the hell do _you_ not have a boyfriend?" That was Richard, the Polit. Sci. major that Christian had roomed with the year before. Josh wasn't extremely fond of the man. His blatant neglect of his date since Maya's arrival one of many reasons.

Maya didn't seem phased though, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "I wasn't aware that they were a requirement for life." Her smile was indulgent, maybe a little too.

Austin picked that moment to reappear, a fresh beer bottle in one hand and a Mojito in the other. He gallantly held out the Collins glass for Maya, who took it with a wink. "Maya here is one of those brilliant forward thinking women who believe that she shouldn't have to give up her life for a man." He took a swig of his beer, resting his forearm on the back of Maya's stool. There was a pointed glare towards Richard's date.

"And until I can find one that can keep up with that, I'm keeping my options open." She leaned into Austin now, her smile bright.

"Well, I think it's great!" Hope downed the rest of her own Cosmo and signaled the bartender for another. "There is absolutely no reason to rush a man ruining your life."

Shifting on her hips, Maya dropped her head on Josh's shoulder, lips near his ear. "What kind of bus was I just pushed in front of?"

"You're taking Hope's roommate's ticket." Josh clarified, catching a quick whiff of her perfume as their faces seemed to change places, his lips to her ear. "We ordered these back in March, and then Michelle got a boyfriend over the summer." Maya nodded, her hair tickling his neck. "The boyfriend had no ticket, so guess who just randomly gave hers up?"

Another quick motion and Maya laughed. "And Hope's not taking it well?"

His smile was careful. "How'd you guess?" She covered her lips with the hand not holding her drink, trying not to side-eye the girl in question. Her eyes said that she was sympathetic. It had been proven time and again that she and Riley would always put each other in front of any significant other, and she felt sorry for anyone who didn't have that. Her drop earring shook as she began to pull away, and Josh took her hesitation to lean in again. "And in case I haven't said it yet, you look amazing."

She wasn't blushing, Maya Hart didn't do that. But if she sat up straighter as she hopped into the middle of the conversation that Austin and Allison were having about the turntables on stage at the Richard Rogers, Josh took it as a win.

* * *

The show was absolutely brilliant.

Josh had never been a big fan of musicals, much to his mother and older brother's dismay, but the music and lyrics, as well as the incredibly hyped audience, had grabbed a hold of him and not let him go.

It may have also had something to do with the vibrant energy that radiated from the seatmate to his immediate left during the entire performance.

Maya had switched seats with Austin once they'd realized that she truly did get Michelle's seat – and begged them to not force her to sit next to the bitter brunette that was both side-eyeing her and trying to encourage a sisterhood. It hadn't been a difficult transition, his roommate taking her initial seat meant that they were able to still communicate during the show and Christian didn't have to be regulated to their third stooge, seeing as though Allie had decided that Maya could just sit by her.

He caught her putting her own hand over her mouth to stop herself from singing along twice, Austin did it for her one last time while Burr urged Jefferson and the former Hercules Mulligan into trying to oust the title player. They'd pantomimed the entirety of the song about the Reynolds Pamphlet to each other afterward, and Josh would have given anything to have been able to pull his phone out and record it.

The high seemed to follow them all the way to the restaurant, or at least in their cab. Even with the cramped situation, Maya and Allison traded lines with zest, the former sliding further and further into his lap as she gesticulated wildly. There wasn't even a pause as she finally pulled her phone out of her purse to check her texts, Austin's hands on her hips to guide her further down the sidewalk as they waited for the second cab to arrive with the rest of the group.

"Riley's home," she looked up briefly, flipping her phone so he could see the selfie that his niece had sent her, flopped back onto her neon pink comforter.

"You tell her where you are?" He shook his head as Maya flipped her phone back to herself, pulling Austin's hair to get him to prop his head on her shoulder for a selfie of her own that contained the three of them. He didn't see the caption she added to it, before sending it back to Riley. He was also fairly certain that when his phone buzzed a few minutes later, it was a text to alert him that he'd just been tagged in _FromTheHart_ 's latest Instagram post.

Maya nodded, coming to a stop next to Hope. "I called her on my way back to Shawn's." She didn't have to tell him that the reason she'd picked that particular place to get dressed was because her closet there was the biggest.

Which led him to wonder how she found anything with three bedrooms in the same city.

Before he could ask if she'd been jealous, Richard stepped out of the vehicle, handing the cab his fare. "Did you have fun?"

With Austin standing behind her, moving her back and forth as he hummed one of the numbers, Maya couldn't help but smile. "Absolutely!"

His date stepped between them then, her arm coming up around his waist. "Was this your first Broadway show?"

Josh bit his lip to keep from smiling. Even growing up in Philly, it was a right of passage that you had finally made it to middle school when your class got to travel to New York to see _Les Mis_. He hadn't particularly enjoyed the show – which had more to do with the fact that eleven-year-old Joshua Matthews was wanting to look cool in front of his peers – but he'd still gone. He supposed that when your school was physically eight blocks from Broadway, your experience was slightly different.

But the blonde just smiled. "I wish." She readjusted her wrap and took a step away from Austin to maintain her own stability. "My mom tours with Aquila," both Josh and his roommate knew how much it hurt for her to say that out loud. Maya was extremely proud that Katy had finally gotten her 'big break,' but it had meant that her living with more than half a mom had been reduced to only three years. "And my best friend is kind of obsessed with Idina Menzel."

The entire world would be amazed to learn that by 'best friend' she meant Farkle Minkus.

Allie had finally caught up with them, pulling Christian's jacket further around her carefully. "What all have you seen?" Her boyfriend took that opportunity to open the door to the NoMad, slowly ushering them inside.

"I think the easier question would be what I haven't." Maya took a step back, bumping into Josh, before allowing him to propel her forward. " _Rent_ two or three times, _Wicked_ , _If_ / _Then_ , _Phantom_ , most of the Disney's," once Stewart Minkus had discovered that Maya shared Farkle's penchant for musicals, every single time the family made it to a show she had received an invitation. And she did mean _every single time_. "I loved _Spamalot_ , and _Book of Morman_ was an eye-opener." Especially since it wasn't made apparent what it was actually about before curtain. She didn't seem to notice that Richard's condescending smile had slid off his face. "And we did _Finding Neverland_ for my sixteenth birthday." She pointed to Josh as she said it, making it sound more like it had been just the two of them than the entirety of the Matthews Clan.

The sound that came out of Allison's mouth was impressed in nature. Even after witnessing the opulence and charity of the Minkus family, it was still hard to take in. "Next time F's in town and needs a date, you'll send him my way, right?"

Maya nodded. "Okay, but Isadora's kind of possessive."

She didn't seem to pay attention to the fact that Josh had pulled her chair out for her, dropping her purse next to the table leg before sliding into the indicated seat, He did give her shoulder a quick squeeze, though, as he helped her scoot herself in.

He couldn't miss the fact that her eyes popped when she opened her menu, already having dropped her napkin in her lap.

There wasn't a discreet way to tell her that he'd help pick up the tab since she wasn't expecting that kind of expense when she'd agreed to hang out with them that night, so instead he channeled his inner Shawn Hunter and smiled at the waitress that arrived to get their drink orders. "Can I start out with a glass of water?" He smiled up at the woman before putting his arm on the back of Maya's chair. "And she'll have the Asain Pear Sparkler." Refined and stylish, and 100% alcohol-free." When Maya's brow scrunched he shot her a grin. "She's on my bill."

"I do believe that's the smoothest move I have ever seen you pull." Austin didn't hide his applause, backed up by Allie's delighted grin. Christian just nodded appreciatively.

He couldn't tell if Maya was imagining maiming him as she slid her hand onto his shoulder. "And completely unnecessary." There wasn't a way to have any sort of privacy at the round table, and Maya seemed to consider her next words carefully.

A minute shake of her head later and it hit Josh like a ton of bricks.

Maya wasn't pissed that he'd essentially stolen her check out from under her. The clenched jaw and side eye had nothing to do with him at all.

She was embarrassed.

It was a matter of fact that every time the 'fabulous five' – and he never understood how Riley managed to make _that_ nickname stick – went on an excursion that might be a stretch for the Hart coffers, Shawn picked up the tab. When Maya had turned sixteen, part of Hunter's gift to her had been to give her her own 'emergency' credit card for the little things. His only stipulation was that she was accountable for every cent that was spent. Every time she used it, she either texted him the exact dollar amount and what it was for, or a picture of the receipt. And in the event that Maya refused to use Shawn's money, be it that she had already used the card earlier in the day or she couldn't justify its usage to herself, either Farkle or Friar found some subtle way to cover her.

While this would definitely fall into card using territory, and he highly doubted that Shawn would mind picking up the tab for a very nice dinner since they hadn't asked her for reimbursement of the theater ticket, the fact that Maya hadn't realized how much dinner was going to cost her so she could go ahead and ask stung.

And the fact that she hadn't been prepared for this situation mortified her.

Throwing a quick look to Allison, who had seemed to pick up on something with the female ESP that they all seemed to have, Josh slid his arm further behind Maya on the chair. "Come on, Hart." He caught her eye and his smile softened. "You've been begging me to take you on a date for years, and _now_ you're going to turn me down?"

He didn't know if it was the sentence or the situation that caught her, but her laugh was totally worth it. "And what exactly do you plan on doing if I decide to have the lobster?" Her tone was challenging.

Maya's head had tilted to the side, and if it were directed in any other direction, Josh could already hear the 'ha-hurr' that was to follow. Somewhere in the back of his memory, fourteen-year-old Maya was stealing his college acceptance letter and announcing that he was stuck with her for the next four years. "You've been vying for this for six years," the wink he threw was in no way careful. "I might as well make it worth your while."

There was a cough on the other side of the table, and Richard's date was riveted, "Is someone going to explain what that's all about?"

Austin may or may not have coughed 'Uncle Boing' into his hand like a middle schooler.

Maya definitely responded to that by sticking her tongue out at him.

Josh just shook his head. "Maya's been my niece's best friend for forever." He actually wasn't entirely sure when the girls had met. There was a vague story that Topanga liked to quote about kindergarten Maya coming to Riley's defense and hitting a teacher with a coloring book, but he'd never actually heard how they got their start.

His mouth opened, and Maya's voice overlapped his. "And once upon a time, I _might_ have been misguided enough to have a crush on him."

Austin took a skeptical sip of his own glass of water and nodded. "Might?"

"Misguided," Maya corrected. "He was the cool, not-so-old uncle," she gestured vaguely in his direction. "And every time I pointed that out Cory's jaw would do the thing." She was pointing to her own face now, trying to imitate Cory's tick. Half the table laughed, having witnessed 'the thing' at least once in their four years of friendship. "Then I got out of middle school." The waitress returned with the orders from the bar and Maya's eyes widened, realizing that she still hadn't actually looked over the menu.

Starting at the other end of the table hadn't helped either, as she was still trying to decipher it when the waitress got to her and Josh. "I'm gonna go with the 'suckling pig,'" he'd only barely succeeded in not sounding like he was trying to arrange golf on his yacht, Austin's ridiculous British accent as he ordered his own food still stuck in his mind. Maya caught his eye and she shook her head. "And she'll have the venison."

The waitress nodded, jotting down their orders and trying her hardest not to laugh at the group. "Of course, and crudité and charcuterie for the whole table?"

Allison nodded, pointing to her already empty wine glass. "Thank you!"

* * *

Maya didn't even want to check the time as they all congregated outside, trying to decide just how many cabs they would need to get everyone home. She just knew that it was late. Had it not been for the sheer amount of alcohol that Allison had consumed, Christian had strongly considered just taking the N back to his off-campus apartment. Richard had already departed, once it had been decided that his date would make sure that Hope got back to her room all right.

"We could always share," Christian was telling Josh. "You and Aus aren't that much farther down the block."

Giving Hope an over-exaggerated kiss on the cheek, Austin handed cash to the cabbie for the girls' ride before turning around. "But then who'd see Ms. Hart was returned to her domicile unharmed?"

"I'm a big girl." She emphasized that particular sentence by finally pulling her phone from her bag, the lanyard with her mace wrapped around her wrist. "Perfectly capable of riding the subway all by myself."

As Allison launched into a speech about girl power, Josh just shook his head. "You got someone waiting for you on the other side?" Maya's eyes widened, and her mouth opened as she tried to decide if she was offended. "I meant-" he cut her off. "Could Lucas meet you at Canal Street?"

"You realize that it is possible for me to go home alone, right?"

He managed to see past her indignation to the unsaid statement that Lucas had obviously spent the night at his parent's place. It also didn't escape his notice that she didn't have to ask how he knew Shawn wasn't home for him to meet her either. Josh looked to his roommate as Christian waited for a second cab to pull up. "You riding with us or them?"

" _You're_ riding with them," Maya's head tilted to the left and she smiled at Christian.

The older man was smart enough to smile back and open the door so his girlfriend could climb into the cab.

"Don't argue with him too long." Allison kissed Maya on the cheek after a long hug. "And we are doing lunch this week." Christian waved in lieu of his own hug, allowing Austin to close the door behind them and tap the hood of the cab.

"I'm not going to argue at all." Maya took a step back, brushing wisps of hair out of her eyes.

He didn't even think about looking at Austin. His roommate would be absolutely no help here, he didn't think. "Neither am I," a step forward. "You're getting dropped off first." And then he realized that one of them had been lying. "Look, Maya." A hand through his hair and Josh was trying very hard to say exactly what he was thinking right then. "If it weren't after midnight, and you weren't wearing–" there really was no guarantee that she didn't misinterpret the gesture that he made when he raked his eyes over her form. "I would have no problem letting you take three trains," because he knew exactly which route home she would have to take, "by yourself.

"But you are _unequivocally gorgeous_ , and it's late, and there is absolutely no way that I would ever forgive myself if anything happened to you between here and Beach." Josh wasn't sure if it was his brain that had short-circuited, or if her entire body seemed to freeze when he'd started that last sentence. "So if you wouldn't mind letting me pay for another cab ride home, I would greatly appreciate it."

Whatever she had been about to counter his argument with seemed to evaporate. Maya's still wide eyes cut to Austin, then to the cab, before coming back to Josh's own. She didn't say a word as she readjusted her wrap to cover more of her shoulders and tucked her purse more firmly into her elbow. Maya swallowed before nodding, moving around Josh so Austin could open the door for her.

Austin stopped him before he was able to make it to the cab himself. "I have no idea what just happened there."

"Neither do I," Josh fell into the seat, not noticing that Austin shut the door and rounded the cab to bookend Maya, instead of sliding in next to him.

Maya didn't say a word the entire eighteen-minute ride to Shawn's.

It wasn't as if Austin didn't try. Between him rapping one of the multitudes of verses from Hamilton to trying to discuss Maya's need for killer heels, he ran the gamut of conversation starters. He even asked about both Katy and Shawn – and commented on a few of the more recent Instagram posts that she had made during her week with her friends.

And gotten absolutely nothing.

He caught Josh's eyes over the top of blonde hair as the cabbie turned down Shawn's street, shaking his head "I think you broke her." Josh was exceedingly glad that the words had been mouthed in his general direction and not spoken aloud.

"8 Beach!" The cab driver pulled up to the curb and flicked the blinkers on, signaling his stop. "Who's getting out?"

Josh had the door open and was out on the sidewalk before any of them could think. Maya followed, albeit more slowly considering the skirt and heels. "Thank you." Josh didn't seem to notice that she had closed the door to the cab, coming up short when he'd spoken.

Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Maya smiled. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

They stared at each other for a moment, still not entirely sure what they were supposed to say.

"Thanks for dinner, Josh." Maya reached into her purse again, pulling her keys free. "And for the ride home."

He stepped to her now, a careful hand on her arm. "Anytime, for either of those." Was he supposed to hug her now? Would she let him?

She made the decision for him, stepping up and giving him the briefest squeeze that he ever thought possible. "I'll see you later."

Austin had apparently given the driver their address, and the car slid off the curb just as quickly as he had gotten the door shut. That didn't stop his roommate from throwing him a look as he watched the door close behind Maya. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Josh both nodded and shook his head at the same time. He pointed out the window with a shrug. "That was just new."

There was a nod as if Austin wasn't entirely sure how much he was allowed to comment on the scene that they had just found themselves in, before deciding against it and launching himself into a full rant about Hope and her lack of personality that evening.

When Josh's phone buzzed after they had paid the driver and were starting into their own building, he raced for it. There was only a handful of people that would possibly be up at one in the morning, and the likelihood that it was the blonde they had just left was high. He came up short, however, when his niece's name was at the top of the notifications on his phone; _[Content hidden]_ underneath it. It was entirely possible that he had made his way up the stairs and down the hall on autopilot, **What did you do to Maya?!** burned into his brain.


	13. Interlude: What Did I Miss?

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 2,609  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is has graduated NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either. This chapter also makes more than a few references to the Broadway hit Hamilton by the ever talented Lin-Manuel Miranda. I don't own it, but I LOVE IT

* * *

"Guess who just got offered a mid-center orchestra ticket to _Hamilton tonight_?!"

Riley couldn't be sure when exactly, over the course of their friendship, she and Maya had stopped saying 'hello' at the beginning of phone calls. And while normally she would be reprimanding her best friend for lack of etiquette, Maya's words caught up to her and she let out a squeal. "You did!" She glanced apologetically at the businessman who was now staring at her. "You did," she repeated, much softer.

"I did!" Maya was hopping up and down, Riley didn't need to be next to her to know it. While the Minkus family had taken them to the play their freshman year of high school, it was one that Maya was insistent that she could see again, and again, and again.

And Riley had no problem agreeing with her.

So instead of being jealous, Riley took a deep breath and asked, "how?"

"I have no idea." Maya was laughing, and Riley could hear the sound of the subway around her. "Al just called and said that they had an extra ticket." She seemed to stutter as if trying to figure out whether or not she needed to reiterate that Al equaled Allison, Christian's girlfriend.

To get her back on her proper thought, Riley laughed. "And?"

"And I have two hours to get dressed and down to Bar Seven Five." Maya's breath hitched. "What do I wear?"

The giggle wasn't planned, really it wasn't. Maya Hart had never really had a girly moment in her life – and shopping for a new wardrobe with Shawn didn't count - she picked what she liked there was no nervousness. "Did Al give you any parameters?" It was probably the simplest place to start.

"Classic Blind Date." The phrase seemed foreign to Maya, and Riley smiled again. "What the hell do people wear on blind dates?"

Riley slid back into her seat, kicking her legs up next to her. "How have you never been on a blind date?" She responded instead.

Maya huffed in her ear. "When do I have time?"

And Riley supposed it was true.

While they may joke that Riley was Miss All-American College Girl, Maya didn't seem to be too far behind her. She had a full schedule, plus two art lectures that she had managed to pick up by the grace of God and her Faculty Adviser, maintained a B+ average, and she still kept her part-time job at _Topanga's_. Maya had study groups and she scheduled studio time, and that was in addition to the lunches and dinners that she squeezed her mother and Shawn into when they were in town. She helped her parents get Auggie where he needed to be, and – and Riley still had a hard time believing this one – she and Topanga had started a Saturday morning spin class.

The more she thought about it, the more Riley wondered if it weren't for the marvels of modern technology if their friendship would survive college. "Which closet are we dressing you out of?" She asked instead of voicing any of that.

"Shawn's."

For starters, it was closer to the bar, thirteen minutes and 2 trains rather than the twenty minutes and three trains from her dorm room. Then there was the fact that of the two closets which may contain appropriate clothing, the one at Shawn's was decidedly bigger.

Thankfully both girls seemed to have mentally cataloged each other's wardrobes. "You've got the mid-length London." Riley started, closing her eyes to make it easier to 'walk' through the closet. "The purple one?"

"It's too cold for that." It was also above the knee, and Maya didn't think that was appropriate. She just didn't want to say it out loud. "The American Rag slip dress?"

Riley shook her head, forgetting Maya couldn't see her. "That's 'classic' in the _wrong_ way, Peaches." Which was not unlike reminding Maya that it was far too skimpy for a night on Broadway. "Your Lanvin is too expensive." It was also out of season – having been bought and worn for New Years Eve – but neither one of them were too concerned with that. "What about the fit-and-flare? The black one?"

Earrings scraped against the phone case, and Riley could tell it was Maya's turn to shake her head. "I look like a twelve-year-old in it." She reminded her best friend.

Sounds of the street invaded Riley's hearing, and she heard Maya's hello to the guy that owned the newsstand in Tribeca Park. "What about your Maggy London?" It was one of two dresses that were bought for her art school interviews – of which she had three – but Riley remembered that it was a gorgeous red color.

Maya seemed to consider it, a good minute passing before she sighed. "That could work," she agreed. "But I think it's at Mom's."

The frustration was mounting; Riley could feel it. "Next time I'm in town we're reorganizing your closets," she decided with a huff. "This is getting ridiculous."

There was a laugh on the other end, and Maya nodded. "I'm almost never at Mom's anymore, we could just move the important stuff out of there." A jingle and a clank, and Maya called out to one of Shawn's downstairs' neighbors as she bypassed the elevator in favor of the stairway. Her keychain bouncing against her hand.

"I know your ModCloth Narrator is in the back of your closet–"

"No."

A door slammed, and Riley reached for her water. "Why not?"

Maya dropped her keys on the island, and Riley could hear the distinct sound of her kicking her boots off on the way to her room. Shawn was out of town for another few days at least – picking up a gig in Maine the day after his last assignment ended – and he was well versed in living with Maya anyway. "it's pink." It was blunt, almost laced with disgust. Riley couldn't remember why the dress had been purchased – she thinks it was for the Senior Awards night, where Maya had gotten three – but she's fairly certain it hasn't been worn since.

"It's a very pretty dress." Riley tried again. "And you can wear those white sandals with it."

"It's pink," Maya repeated again, her tone lower. "I'm not wearing it."

There was a long moment when one was trying to regroup, and the other was doing a decent job of not frantically thumbing through the racks of her closet. Riley didn't bother to tell her best friend that she was muttering under her breath. "Too short. Not short enough. I _can't_ wear pants." A few choice curse words later, and Maya turned to assess the other side of the closet. Thrift shops, second-hand stores, department store sales; Maya's closets had evolved over the years to cover a multitude of situations, trends, and styles. So why was it so hard to find something for one night? "No, no, no. Dear God, why did I buy that?"

"It was on sale." Riley didn't even know what it was that Maya was looking at, but she that was pretty much the standard reason for things winding up in either one of their closest. Either that or it was purchased for one specific purpose, and once that purpose was over, it was of no other use, and they didn't want to give it up in case it could be used again. "Just like that hunter…" Riley's eyes popped, and she sat up straight, trying not to hop in her seat. "The rouched green dress," she announced quickly. The one with the cowl neck that you swore you'd have no use for after that thing for Shawn's work?"

Maya stifled a laugh, pawing her way to the back of the row she was on to locate the dress in question. She had no idea where she'd found it, a last minute buy so she could attend Shawn's publishing house's idea of a low-key Christmas party. It had been mandatory for her pseudo-father, and he had drug her along because her mother was out of town again, and he wanted an excuse to leave early if it sucked. And it wasn't that she didn't like it. It was made of a jersey-like material that was both warm, and breathable. She just never really had a reason to wear it again – it didn't exactly scream 'school.' – so it had been regulated to the back of her closet.

"Are you sure it's dressy enough?" Maya tossed it onto the bed so she could retrieve her headphones. Popping an earbud in, and attaching it to her phone, she reached for the hanger again, holding it up and snapping a quick picture. "It doesn't exactly scream 'Mass Broadway Date'."

Riley nodded emphatically for all of ten seconds before realizing that Maya couldn't see her. Her phone vibrated, signaling that she had gotten Maya's text, and she nodded again. "Do you still have my Cashmere wrap?"

There was a squeak, followed by a very sheepish, "possibly."

The laugh just happened. It wasn't as if they hadn't appropriated each others things over the years. Heck, the earrings Riley was wearing at the moment were Maya's. "Then do that with your Bebe heels." Maya opened her mouth again, but Riley was already calculating time in her head. "Run through the shower, you don't have time to wash your hair. Text me when you're done."

It was entirely possible that this was the first time in their entire friendship Riley Matthews had ever hung up on her best friend. She was about to apologize when her phone vibrated.

 **I 3 U Honey!**

* * *

An hour and fifteen minutes later got Riley a picture of Maya's finished ensemble – she definitely approved of the decision to wear her hair up – and an over-exaggerated kissy face in the mirror. She was given an honorable mention on Maya's Instagram feed when she posted an excited grin on the subway, and Maya sent a quick message that she had gotten to the bar and was going radio-silent until after the show.

Riley spent the rest of her train ride texting Will and getting a head start on the material for her classes on Tuesday. Not the most exciting way to spend two hours, but it made less she had to do when she got back to New Haven.

As had become standard when she made a trip home, she grabbed dinner for her and her suitemate, Thai this time, and jumped head first into unpacking the second she shut the door. Once that was completed, Riley sent a quick selfie to Maya announcing her arrival safely back at her place of higher education, alerted her parents and boyfriend of the same thing – this time, without the picture of her fanned out against her comforter – and proceeded to spend quality time with her suitemate.

They were halfway through catching up on the shows that they had missed during the week with their families when her phone chimed, signaling that Maya's self-imposed radio silence had come to an end. She was greeted with the view of Maya's perfectly made up face, Josh leaning on one shoulder and Austin's head popping in from the other direction, Maya's hand fully embedded in his hair. All three of them were smiling like crazy people, with Broadway and 28th providing their background. The picture was accompanied with the caption: **And when our children tell our story, they'll tell the story of tonight!**

She sent back a quick shot of her view of the television, oversized hot chocolate mug and empty ice cream bowl on the coffee table included, tagged **What did I miss?**

The next text was just a picture of the sign for the NoMad Restaurant, **Decisions are happening over dinner** following.

She didn't have to tell Maya to enjoy it, or that she understood that she wasn't going to be getting any texts until after they had their meal; if she was still awake.

It turned out that she and Callie had fallen asleep together on the oversized couch in their suite halfway through the episode of _Scorpion_ , managing to twist and turn each other so they were thoroughly intertwined when the text tone announced that Maya was reaching out again. Riley reached for her phone lazily, fully expecting another three-person selfie to announce that the night of shenanigans was coming to a close.

 **Made it home. Text u in the morning.**

That couldn't be right.

Riley rubbed her eyes and pulled the screen up again. Yep, she read it right the first time. That wasn't just a change in tone, it was a completely new attitude from three hours earlier. And that didn't sit well with her. She extracted herself from Callie carefully, making sure that she neither kicked her suitemate nor collided with the coffee table as she regained her feet. Normally this was the part where she would return the dishes and silverware to the kitchenette, but her mind just wasn't on it.

 **Everything okay?**

In her opinion, it took entirely too long for Maya to respond. After all, Riley had enough time to get from the living area to her bedroom – and quietly close the door – before she got a response.

 **Just tired**.

She tried to decide whether or not to believe her best friend. Years of experience said that even a tired Maya would have called her the second she got in the door, breathlessly laughing about how great of a time she had. Thumbing the bottom of her screen to activate the keyboard. **What's going on Peaches?**

 **Leave it Riley**.

Another minute.

 **I'll text u in the am**

If it weren't well past midnight, this would be the part where Riley would growl in frustration. Since she wasn't allowed to do that, she just dropped down onto her bed, Maya had been fine before the show, and playful after. She hadn't heard anything after dinner, and had that gone horribly, Maya would probably have snuck an S.O.S. text out.

That meant that whatever caused her mood happened after dinner. And the only person Riley could think of that would have a direct impact on that happened to be related to her.

Thumbing her phone back on, Riley sent out the text before she could stop herself.

It wouldn't occur to her until a week later that she never got a response.


	14. Part IX: Beautiful Disaster

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,993  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is in his last year at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other characters featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

If he was being honest with himself, Josh supposed the most amazing part of the week and a half between the night of Hamilton and Halloween was how completely normal Maya had managed to make their few interactions.

It started when he bumped into her on Monday. She'd picked up a shift at Topanga's and he'd been in desperate need of caffeine after his nine am run with Austin. She'd been cordial and even joked with him about which circuit they'd done around Central Park. Josh wasn't really surprised to find out that she'd kept the twice weekly schedule that she and Riley had set their junior year. As much as Maya had grouched and grumbled, it was still an easy way to stay in shape – and clear her head. He and Austin had both inquired about running with her some morning – her usual Hudson River track instead of their own – and both had received the same head shake brush off as she moved on to the next set of customers.

Tuesday had meant a return to both of his schedules, and he checked out of socializing until his Thursday night dinner at his brother's house in order to allow him time to fall back into the groove. He'd been caught off guard a second time when Topanga asked him about takeout two steps into the room since Cory had Parent-Teacher Night at the school, and he realized that the person sitting at the kitchen table helping Auggie with fractions and variables was Maya. Her sketchbook was out, and as Auggie attempted the next problem on his own, she turned back to it, two figures appearing underneath a streetlight taking shape.

Friday night meant drinks with the guys at Bar Seven Five after work. Saturday was laundry and grocery shopping, Austin took care of the first half, him the second, and he spent Saturday night and the bulk of Sunday spread across the kitchen table with his thesis work.

And then the week seemed to start all over again.

He wasn't sure why he had told Topanga that he would help her man Auggie's class Halloween party at the café. It wasn't like he couldn't make other plans. Sure, Halloween was on a Thursday this year, and his one and only eight am lecture was scheduled for Friday mornings, which made partying slightly more difficult. But it wasn't as if he'd never arrived exhausted and hungover to a course before in the last three and a half years he'd been at NYU.

Not that he'd ever actually admit it out loud.

So instead of gearing up with his roommate – who was apparently tying to be a turtleless ninja turtle this year – Josh channeled his teenage gamer self and dressed as Desmond Miles for the holiday, palming his keys and heading to his brothers to see if he could help with setting up.

* * *

"Were you even trying?" Maya seemed to appear out of nowhere as he took position beside a rather large fake pillar covered in cobwebs, a tray of witch hat cookies in one hand.

He snagged a cookie as she passed to the other side of the café, shaking her head. The tables had all been moved around to create a sort of dance floor. Even though Topanga's still offered their usual fare for the parents, there was a long refreshments table set up on the far side, spooky treats, goodie bags, and a rather large punch bowl dominating. He watched her sidestep Ava seamlessly in order to set the cookies down on the table, righting a few bottles of water that had fallen, before turning and heading back in his direction.

"Trying?" He asked after she came to a stop beside the counter.

Maya gave him a quick onceover, taking in his stylized white and red AC3 hoodie, jeans, and Sketchers. He knew that she knew who he was dressed up as, after all she and Riley had played the entire series when she had her tonsils out two years ago. It also probably helped that he was wearing an old toy hidden blade and the black sling backpack. "You get an A for effort," she decided after a moment, hand twitching as if she wanted to try to smooth down his hair. "But you lose points for originality."

"Originality?" Josh swept an arm around the café, already filling up with mummies and vampires. There was a quartet dressed up like actual ninja turtles in one corner, and a series of girls dressed up like the Monster High kids shuffling in. "Half these kids won't even know who I am."

Auggie popped up beside them, trying to smooth down Maya's shirt from where it had caught on his overalls. "You couldn't have at least come as Kenway? Or Jacob?"

"And somehow you've turned my family against me."

Readjusting his red newsboy cap, Maya winked down at Auggie. "I'll rock Evie for you next year if you want." She threw him a smile as well, bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Who exactly are you supposed to be anyway?" His finger twitched as he used it to point at her calf-length taupe tulle skirt and off-the-shoulder black top. She had paired it with simple black flats and a black ornamental headband holding her hair back.

Another quick moment to readjust Auggie's mustache, and Maya pushed him in the direction of Dewy and Ava. "Who do you think I am?" She twirled carefully, making sure the skirt didn't fly up. When Josh's eyebrow cocked, Maya sighed. "Riley and I have matched Halloween costumes for the last ten years." She said smartly, pulling her phone out of a pocket he hadn't noticed and pulling up Riley's Instagram. The girl in question was in one of the brightest pair of yellow jeans that Josh had ever seen. She had layered a deep red v-neck tank top under a sheer blue button down and pulled her dark locks up with a red ribbon bow to complete the ensemble. Apparently she was _#disneybounding_ for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Halloween Extravaganza, and even though she didn't add a hashtag for her character, he had seen enough to recognize a modern day Snow White when she was curtseying to the camera through a Clarendon filter. Scrolling up slightly led him to _ItsFarkle_ dressed in a white shirt with a sleeveless jean vest and brown cargo pants, _#FlynnRider_ offering his contribution to their holiday.

Handing her back the phone, Josh took in Maya with a more discerning eye. She was a princess. Even though no one told him that, he knew that Riley wouldn't have stood for her to be anything else. And if he limited himself to the princesses with blonde hair, he had three to choose from. Now while he wasn't nearly as well versed as his brother – having two children – or his sister, he took in the distinct lack of blue or purple to help him narrow it down.

"I thought Sleeping Beauty wore pink?" He asked with a quirk of the lip.

Maya slipped her hair over her shoulder and shook her head. "Only a boy would remember just the pink."

"It's a sixty-year-old movie," Josh reminded her, "that I think I've seen twice in my life." He gestured behind him slowly, in the direction of Ava and her Princess Peach pageant dress. "And she always seemed to look a lot like that."

Another little boy came hopping up, his mother trailing behind trying to adjust the collar on his older brother's Dracula cape. "Carmel apple please?" He held a chubby hand up with a smile.

Crouching to bring herself closer to his height, Maya scrunched her nose. "I don't have the apples, sweetie." She told him, her eyes coming up to look at his mother. "But if you walk straight out that door and turn that way," Maya pulled the little boy close to her, turning him so they faced the same direction, and then pointed left with her hand. "Mrs. Matthews might let you 'Boo Bowl' for one." If he were to hazard a guess, Josh would say that it had been Maya to paint the funny/scary faces on the oversized plastic milk jugs that served as bowling pins.

The woman and her older son had caught up to them then, and she brushed her son's hair out of his face as she smiled. "Why don't you take your brother outside and see if you can't find Mrs. Matthews." The younger kid grumbled, but did as was asked.

Maya straightened, taking a step back to partially move behind the counter. "What can I get for Mom?"

"Chai latte, please?"

Maya nodded and turned to the high schooler hiding behind the counter. "Chai latte, Brit?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"And suddenly your role in tonight is clear." Josh stepped closer to her, bumping her shoulder. He'd been asked to help keep an eye on the sheer number of kids in the café. When Topanga had started organizing this, it had been apparent that the kids would be running in and out of the café, sometimes without their parents. Josh was there to drink free coffee, dole out candy if given the code word won at one of the games outside, and help cull any aggression that bubbled up. It seemed that while she was more than willing to step in when the need arose, Maya's job involved the management of the café while everyone else handled the party.

She turned slightly keeping an eye on the two teenagers that milled about in _Topanga's_ aprons. "You're here because they're family." She pointed to Cory the Captain, leading the smaller children on some sort of treasure hunt. "I'm getting paid."

"Well, that hardly seems fair."

Maya smiled, taking the opportunity to duck behind the counter and help Brit ring out the customer. "You should have held out for a better offer." She raised her own cup to her lips, taking a quick sip.

* * *

After a whirlwind three hours, Josh realized that just because his blonde counterpart was getting paid, didn't mean her job was any easier. She kept the refreshment table stocked, the baristas and paying customers happy, and the café running smoothly, regardless of the fact that half of it had been rearranged. She refilled dispensers, made change for the till and helped handle a toddler meltdown that resulted in no less than three people covered in punch.

And she did it all with a smile on her face.

Which was probably why Cory was watching her count the till with a proud smile on his face, rather than helping Josh move the table they were both standing next to.

Topanga had been sent home with Auggie and Ava, Cory citing that between the planning and set up, she had done more than enough for the day, and they were more than capable of putting everything back into order so the café could open Friday morning as usual. She'd argued, of course she had, before Maya promised to fill out the night deposit slip herself, and leave the receipts and a list of things to be ordered for the day manager.

"I know you two have better things to do than clean all of this up." Cory nodded to Josh first, and then Maya, the blonde catching his eye for only a brief moment before dropping the last of the deposit and the slip into the deposit bag.

"It's okay Mr. Matthews," Maya's smile faded slightly, as if 'better things to do' reminded her of something she wanted to do, but couldn't. "I understood that I was signing away my night when I agreed to work this thing." She locked the bag and dropped the keys into the cash tray to be put into the safe. She slid it back into the drawer, popping it closed to allow her to use the counter space in front of her to spread out the money from the tip jar.

"It's only nine-fifty," Cory double-checked his watch, still kind of amazed that they were closing early. He supposed it made sense though, considering how much they had to work to do to clean up. "Surely you still have time to wreak havoc before you turn into a pumpkin."

She laughed then, finishing up her count of the tips and dividing it among the three of them behind the bar. "Wrong princess, Matthews." Palming her take, Maya dropped three dollars into the jar to start the next shift out and slid the jar into it's cubby behind the counter. "And really, it's fine." She tucked her hair behind her ear and walked the teens to the door, unlocking it so they could slide out into the night, and flipping the tumbler locked again.

The older Matthews physically paused then, leaning against the chair he'd just put back into place. "You mean to tell me that there is absolutely nothing you'd rather be doing tonight?"

Josh wasn't sure what was keeping him quiet. It could have been that while the initial comment was addressed to both of them, the conversation had become more focused on the blonde moving back to the counter. Or it could have been the fact that the mask Maya had been sporting since He'd refused to allow her to ride the subway alone had finally dropped, her usual 'Cory Matthews' induced indulgent smile replacing it. Either way, he wasn't in a hurry to see if it disappeared again.

She was propped on the counter now, forearms bracing herself as she stared down her best friend's father. "If I wanted to hit up a party," Maya countered carefully. "I can do it when we're done."

Cory reached out for the broom and nodded along with her. "You are done, Maya." He said after a moment. When she opened her mouth to argue, Cory shot her his best Feeney impression. "I've got everything from here. Just do me a favor and do the night drop on your way to the station?"

Maya seemed skeptical, reaching under the register for her purse even as she refused to break eye contact. "If you're sure…" she started.

"Go." Cory threw his brother a look as well. "Walk her to the bank, could you?"

And suddenly it was as if Maya realized that he was still in the room with them. "That's not necessary." Her voice was calm, calculated.

But the older Matthews wasn't budging, nodding to the bag that she was sliding into her deceptively small purse. "Humor me?"

Amazingly enough, that was the end of that.

Josh didn't catch where Maya's pea coat had been stashed, nor did he offer to help her put it on, her lanyard appearing out of the pocket. "Thank you, Mr. Matthews," Maya said instead, giving Cory a quick squeeze on her way to the door.

"Have a good night." Cory readjusted the broom in his hand, nodding at both young adults. "Make good choices!"

Josh did hold the door open for her though, nodding down to the petite blonde as she slid under his arm to get out of it. "I'm guessing that means we're not allowed to blow the night's take in AC, then." He aimed his tone for joking, and mentally applauded himself when Maya actually smiled.

"Do you want to guess at how much money I've got in my purse right now?" Maya's eyebrow cocked and she pulled the door to _Topanga_ 's shut firmly before locking the door behind her. While it was true that Cory was the only one there, and fully capable of locking it himself, she had always been told to be vigilant.

Josh shook his head, "not particularly." He admitted. And it was true. He knew that the café did well for itself, and that Maya was responsible for the night drop at least two nights a week. But he didn't need to be told the exact dollar amount that they were walking to bank night drop.

Which reminded him that he had no idea which bank they were walking to.

Maya seemed to understand his dilemma, slipping her arm through his as she propelled them both up the stairs and to the left. They crossed Crosby Street easily, and he noted that Maya had tucked her purse in the space between her coat and his. No matter how many times he got the chance to witness her being what Riley called a 'true New Yorker,' it was always a surprise.

"So what party are you crashing?" Again, he tried for casual, not entirely sure where the line was nowadays. Or how the hell he'd crossed it two Sunday's ago.

"Austin keeps sending me texts from Chris and Allie's thing." Her phone trilled as if to reiterate that fact. She didn't reach for it though, which might have had something to do with the fact that the noise from her pocket was the crisp beep of R2D2, which generally signaled an incoming message from one Lucas Friar.

He still wasn't sure how she managed to keep her tones straight.

They walked a few more feet before she pulled him up short, pointing to the non-descript drawer next to the sign for North Fork Bank. "I'll be right back."

Josh didn't move as Maya practically skipped to the drop, pulling the brown bag out of her purse and slipping it in, allowing the door to slam shut once the bag was in place. She opened it again, to make sure that the bag had gone into the proper receptacle, and moved back to him. "You have officially done your duty, sir." She didn't take his arm again, even after it was offered.

Again, he held out his elbow. "Where to next?"

Again, she ignored it.

"I think I actually am going to stop by Allie's." She turned then, in the direction of the Broadway-Lafayette station, and started off. "The night is young."

He didn't have time to analyze his decision to follow her, taking two long strides to catch up. "Care for some company?"

Maya's steps slowed, and she cast him a weary eye. "Are you doing this because you don't think I can make it there by myself?"

As much as he wanted to defend his actions, Josh knew wasn't sure what to make of her tone. It wasn't angry, or even annoyed, just careful. "I'm doing this because I have absolutely no plans tonight and watching Austin make a drunken ass out of himself sounds fun." It was a half-truth, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

It seemed to satisfy her though, and she tucked her purse back into her own elbow before nodding her head down the sidewalk to the lamppost that signaled the entrance to the Subway.

* * *

He didn't have to ask how the party was going when he located their friends in the chaos that was the apartment. The building was one that rented almost exclusively to NYU students who wished to live 'off-campus' and Allison had organized the party with three out of four of the other apartments on their floor, so all of the doors were open, music spilling out of every direction. While they caught up to Austin first – or rather Maya was assaulted shortly after entering the apartment, his roommate picking her up and spinning her around until she was breathless – it was Christian that was the easiest to spot, ironically sporting a red and white striped shirt over a pair of jeans, matching beanie perched on his head.

"I thought you weren't coming, Matthews?" How Christian had managed to grab a beer for both of them in the eight steps to get across the room, Josh might never know. Maya threw him a quick look before the indifference slid back across her face, and he had to resist the urge to curse.

"That had been the original plan," he started. He took the first swig of his brew and nodded to the blonde. "Then someone reminded me that the night is young, and I decided that Jacobs will forgive me if I'm not all there in class tomorrow." The aforementioned professor had actually been instrumental in Josh securing his internship the year before, and he'd discovered that it was damn near impossible to make the man not like him.

Allison popped up out of nowhere, amazingly inconspicuous in her steampunk cloud captain getup. "And this is just one of the many many reasons why we adore you." She kissed Maya's cheek even as she was relieving her of her still-unopened Sam Adams, replacing it with an opened vanilla porter. "You'll thank me later," she mock whispered. "And you can put your purse in my room. It's off limits tonight."

The blonde took a quick sip of the bottle she was handed, nodding enthusiastically. "Thank you," Maya said dutifully, pulling her purse off of her arm so she could dispose of her coat as well.

A hand came out to snatch both the coat and the purse, and on reflex, Maya elbowed Austin in the solar plexus. "Shit!" She turned then, both hands coming up to the man's shoulders. "That's what I get for trying to be helpful."

"I am _so_ sorry!" It was entirely possible she wasn't as good at covering her smile as she thought she was.

Hand to his sternum, Austin nodded. "Totally okay." He nodded to her jacket, hand out. "May I?"

Maya nodded slowly, holding her arm out, quickly sliding her phone out of the pocket of her jacket before physically releasing it. She tapped the wake button, scanning the texts from her friends before putting it to sleep again, dropping it into her pocket. She stepped to Allison then, resting her hand on the ginger's hip, head on her shoulder. "So who wants to show a girl a good time?"

If asked – and he was, twice – Josh was not purposefully keeping an eye on Maya throughout the night. She bounced fluidly between dancing with Allison and Austin, both separately and as a threesome, kicking back on the small deck of the apartment next door with some of her freshman friends, and beating everyone's ass at Top Card.

She hadn't directly addressed him once since entering the building.

It wasn't until hours later, halfway through one of the worst rounds of Never Have I Ever that he had ever had, that Josh finally got his opening to do something about it.

"I'm out!" Maya held her empty bottle up, nodding to Austin, who was the reason for her losing with an extremely exuberant 'Never Have I Ever been in handcuffs'. She braced herself on his shoulder as she stepped over the back of the bench that had been moved into the dining nook, and tossed her empty at the large recycle bin on her way to the kitchen.

He didn't know what possessed him to tap out as well, following her into through the doors to the kitchen and pausing to watch her pull another vanilla porter out of its hiding place in the back of the fridge. She popped the top absently, scratching the back of her neck and reading the magnetic poetry on the freezer door, before taking an incredibly long swallow,

"This is ridiculous."

Maya's body jolted, and she turned to face him wearing a confused smile. "This is what déjà vu feels like."

It was his turn to take a second, realizing suddenly that he had managed to corner her in the only quiet place in Christian's apartment – the kitchen. He had caught her between the fridge and the counter, so he had just enough room to reach around her to set his beer down she crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's entirely possible that this is going to be the same conversation." He too remembered that night in Shawn's kitchen. How they had moved past the odd two-step that they had found themselves in after a wayward comment separated them. Maya blinked, taking a quick sip of her drink before he smiled down at her. "You can be coy this time."

A quick smile, another sip, and Maya nodded. "Pretty sure the term was 'adorably oblivious'." He nodded, allowing her memory to prevail. "And you still haven't said what's ridiculous."

Josh took a step back, because when did he get that close to her, and waived an errant hand between the two of them. "I'm sorry."

Her brow furrowed as if his words weren't matching up with their current situation. Maya's bottom lip snuck between her teeth. "For?"

The hand was back, twitching between the two of them again. "Whatever it was that I said that night what caused" it took all he had to freeze it in the air. "You and I have never had a problem talking to each other." Maya's eyes cut to something just over his shoulder, and Josh pursed his lips, nodding slowly. "In recent history, you and I have never had a problem talking to each other," he amended. Her eyes rolled, and he couldn't help but smile at the gesture. "But whatever I said, however I said it, that returned us to _this_." He didn't gesture this time, choosing instead to take a step forward and use his eyes to cut back and forth between the two of them. "I'm sorry."

The blonde retreated slightly, if only to lean back on the wall perpendicular to the refrigerator, hands behind her back. "It's not your fault," she said.

They stood like that for a moment, neither of them advancing in any way.

"If something I said made you uncomfortable," his eyes flicked to hers. "Then it is most definitely my fault."

She huffed then, displacing her headband and running a hand through her hair. "Is there any way I can get you to stop being chivalrous for, like, ten minutes please?"

"Chivalrous?" Josh's head cocked to the side, and he studied her profile.

"You didn't do anything, Josh." She turned again. "Other than, you know, be you."

Was he allowed to tell her that she was making absolutely no sense right now?

Josh decided against it, turning in the opposite direction and leaning against the counter. He watched as she physically worked through her next sentence, hands gesticulating even while she juggled her headband and her beer. It struck him again how different this woman was from the girl that used to speak in emotions and sentence fragments. What was it about him being him that bothered her so much?

Her head shook slightly, and Josh decided that the silence wasn't getting them anywhere. So he took a deep breath, and jumped right in. "Is it because I said you were gorgeous?" Yeah that wasn't the exact phrase he had used, standing on the sidewalk in the middle of the night, but it was close, right?

Maya laughed, and if her cheeks tinted slightly, he could pretend he didn't see it. "You call me gorgeous all the time." She reminded him.

Their eyes locked, and Josh took a step towards her. "Not like that."

He could physically see her trying to fight the urge to pull away.

"Maya-"

She cut him off by setting her bottle on the counter opposite from him, slipping her headband back into her hair with both hands. Hair sufficiently out of her face, Maya recollected her bottle and took a long drag, fortifying herself. "You're too old for me." It had to be the first time in the existence of that particular phrase that it hadn't come out of Maya's mouth with it's usual flippancy. "And sometimes – sometimes I forget that." Her balance shifted from one foot to the other, top lip trapping itself between her teeth. "And it's not like there aren't a million and one things that should be screaming at me that we will never be a good idea – you're Riley's uncle, and I've never had a relationship last longer than fifteen minutes – not to mention the fact that you've never ever shown any interest in me whatsoever -"

Josh could pinpoint the exact moment when he realized what she was bumbling her way around.

In the last year there had been small moments – infrequent moments – when he stopped seeing her as the Maya Hart she had reintroduced him to her seventh grade year. When instead of a friend, he'd seen the possibility of something more. It was in her wry smile the night of Homecoming, and the tipsy twinkle in her eye when she gave him his very first New Years kiss. Tiny moments when he found himself wondering what would have been if she'd been a few years older, or him younger.

They had passed quickly, his brain stuttering back to reality without much of an overlap, but the look in her cobalt eyes told him that he hadn't been alone in seeing them.

 _"Maya."_ His voice was a bit firmer now, and Josh's back straightened at the exact moment hers did.

"You don't have to say it, Matthews." Her head was shaking again, and he watched as the hand holding her drink started to as well. "And this is the end of the weird, I promise. I just…" She trailed off slowly, taking a breath. "I think I just needed you to know that sometimes, I'm gonna need to take a step back. To," she gesticulated vaguely, "remind myself that all jokes aside, you're a really good guy, and things don't mean more than they actually do."

He chuckled with her, because what else was he supposed to do? And one hand came up absently to scratch the back of his neck. "That's probably the best 'let's be friends' speech I have ever heard." He said after a moment, letting out a breath. And Josh wasn't sure how it was that she could appear both hopeful and humiliated at the same time, but as with everything else, it was a look that Maya Hart wore with a smile. "And considering the fact that we were friends before you said it, it's even more impressive."

When did he take the step toward her? His hand dropped to the counter on the other side of her arm, the edge of the plastic laminate digging into his palm.

Her chin tilted upwards. "Good," Maya crossed and uncrossed her arms as if she had nothing better to do. "Now that we're passed that."

Josh would never be able to remember which one of them moved forward first, but the hand that wasn't braced on the counter slid over her hip and up her spine to anchor itself in blonde hair.

Maya didn't pull away.

It's the first and last thought that runs through his mind as his lips descend on hers, tongue against the corner of her mouth before her hands run up his arms, nails catching his trapezius before digging into his scalp. There were several long moments where he was aware of nothing more than the taste of her lip gloss and the feeling of the tension sliding straight down her spine. As much as her body didn't retreat, it didn't get closer either, both of them settling into the moment delicately.

"Yo Matthews!" The saloon doors separating the kitchen from the rest of the apartment smacked against each other, and then the walls as Christian pushed his way into the small room. The hand that had weaved itself through the hair at the nape of Maya's neck flexed automatically. "Can you hand me the paper towels?"

He realizes after Maya's taken a step back, hands hanging awkwardly in the air for a quick second, that Christian isn't actually looking into the room. Josh doesn't wonder if it was because he caught a glimpse of what was happening and decided that deniability was best, or if whatever it was that caused the need for the paper towels was more entertaining than Christian believed the kitchen was. It's quite likely it's the latter, since Austin was on the other side of the door apologizing profusely to someone, the rest of the remainder of the party in various states of laughter.

"Here ya go, man." Josh pulls the entirety of the roll off of the holder by the stove, tossing it at the taller man. Christian's head snaps in his direction long enough to catch the roll cleanly in his elbow before slipping between the doors again.

When Josh catches Maya's eyes again, she's rolling her beer bottle between her palms, watching the glass intently. Her hair's been flipped back over her shoulder, and if he couldn't still taste her on his tongue, he could almost pretend that the last however many minutes were a product of his very vivid imagination. Relief flooded through his veins when he realizes that her smile is soft, but unguarded.

"Someone's gonna have to tell your brother that his do-gooder behavior speech needs work."

And he laughs, which is probably what she had in mind when she said it. "I'll be sure to mention it next time I see him." Somewhere before this scene began Josh actually had a beer of his own in the kitchen. When he realizes that he can't remember where he put it, he turns and relieve the refrigerator of a second one. "Which one of us gets to say that that was a bad idea?"

Her smile shifts slightly, and Maya nods without another word. She doesn't have to speak; they've already had this part of the conversation. And it's written all over her face.

It doesn't stop him from reaching for her again, biting back her name when she takes a step toward the doors. "It was bound to happen eventually." Her beer is finished, and she drops the empty into the sink before catching his eyes again. _Things don't mean more than they actually do._

He doesn't want to tell her that sometimes they're wrong. Not when she's slipping through the doors into the crowd, smile at the ready.

Josh tells himself that nothing's changed. He repeats it as she slides down next to him during the game of catchphrase that Allison 'just has to play'. It's the first thing on his lips when Maya insists that she can make it home on her own, after rolling her eyes when Christian informs her that there's a cab downstairs waiting for her. Echoes when the goodbye hugs start and she makes sure that his isn't shorter than the one that she gives Austin, because they're staying to help clean up before heading home themselves.

And when she kisses his cheek, lips grazing the side of his mouth just as it had ten months earlier, he realizes that it's not entirely true.

But it's not up to him.

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me invision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I'm currently working on the creation of album covers for my 8tracks playlists. If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

 **It's entirely likely I kissed Josh last nite.**

Lucas was suddenly thankful that he showered when he returned home from the party his roommate drug him to the night before.

 **Just how hungover are you right now?**


	15. Interlude: Little Did You Know

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows» Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 2,974  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is has graduated NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

 **I think I kissed Josh last nite.**

It's not the text message Lucas thought he was waking up to Friday morning, but it certainly did him better than the lukewarm coffee his roommates left him.

He doesn't even bother to hide his laugh.

 **Isn't that the kind of thing one remembers?**

Because Maya had been completely drunk only two times in her young life, and neither one of those gave her the benefit of having no recollection of her actions the following morning.

The ellipses bubble appeared for a moment, stopped, and then showed up again. When R2D2 announced another message had been received, he thumbed the screen to make it light up again.

 **It's entirely likely I kissed Josh last nite.**

Lucas was suddenly thankful that he showered when he returned home from the party one of his roommates drug him to the night before.

 **Just how hungover are you right now?**

Precedent dictated that after the read notification popped up under his last message, Lucas had roughly a minute and a half before his phone would ring. He used that time to grab a shirt from the clean laundry pile that had yet to make it into a drawer and shrugging it on over his boxers. When the thrill of FaceTime alerted him that his hunch had been right, he hit the button without even bothering to look at his phone.

"You're an ass."

He didn't bother to tell her that that didn't make him wrong.

Lucas set his phone on the lightning dock and shook his head, moving around the bed to try to locate more clothing to put on the lower half of his body. "Good morning to you too, sweetheart." He could hear her grumbling around a coffee cup. "How did Auggie's thing go?"

"Really?" When he finally turned to look at her, Maya's lips were so taut they were white. "I give you kissing Josh, and you ask about Auggie."

He pulled his jeans on smoothly, not bothering to button them as he moved back around his bed. "I figured you'd get there by yourself," he admitted honestly.

Maya's face disappeared from the frame for a second, giving him a very good look at the dime nestled against her sternum, before sliding back down, hair pulled back away from her face. "The school thing went great," she sat back on the desk chair in her dorm room, leaning back a little too much for Lucas's liking. "We only had one major accident and I made $25 in tips." That was before she put money back in the jar to start the next shift off, and after the mother of the child that went completely Chernobyl dropped a handful of cash into the jar. "Apparently the PTA is already considering asking her to do the Christmas party."

"That should be fun." He reached for the phone again, holding it up so he could head toward the kitchen. "You gonna work that one too?"

"As long as finals are done." She seemed to freeze for a moment, as if considering the words that had just left her mouth and took a breath.

Lucas just laughed, "your heart rate return to normal yet?" He asked with a quick wink.

"I hate you."

Propping his phone against the toaster, Lucas shook his head. "If that were true, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation." He poured his cold coffee down the sink and reached for the Tupperware container that he kept hidden in the nook above the fridge. While he preferred the coffee pot that was situated on the other side of the counter – beans were cheaper than k-cups, and not all poor college students' stereotypes were without basis – he had neither the desire nor the need to brew an entire pot. He grabbed a cup at random, dropping it into the Keurig and slipping his mug under the spout. As the machine sputtered to life, he turned back to his best friend. "And you never answered my first question?"

The screen seemed to pause for a moment, as Maya went back to check her messages, and when she returned, her smile was tight. "Yes, that is generally something someone would remember."

"Now who's being the ass?"

Seemingly against her own volition, Maya's lips turned up. "I'm not hung-over."

Lucas took a moment to appreciate the way the light from her dorm room window caught her eyes. "You're not." He agreed. "So why are we uncertain that you and 'Uncle Boing' locked lips last night?"

As if someone had hit the switch, her iris's darkened. "It's not so much that I'm uncertain," she started slowly.

When the Keurig stopped, he absently reached into the cabinet for the non-dairy creamer. "Are we in denial?"

Her eyes narrowed then, peering straight into the camera. "You got a frog in your pocket?" There was a laugh, and Lucas honestly wasn't sure which one of them it came from, and he turned his full attention back to the phone while taking a sip. " _We_ aren't sure who actually started it," she said after a full minute.

Lucas didn't lower his mug, allowing it to hide the wry smile he knew was tugging at his lips.

"One second he's apologizing for Hamilton – which I told him wasn't his fault by the way –" Maya gesticulated wildly with the hand that wasn't holding the phone. "And then I actually told him why I started with the crazy.." It had only taken Lucas a week and a half to convince her that pretending the tension didn't exist wasn't good for any of them.

But he held off his applause as he dropped himself onto the couch.

"I thought it was a good talk." She finished with a huff, throwing herself backwards on her bed. "And then…" Her entire face scrunched and she groaned harshly. "Seriously, why couldn't he suck at just _one_ thing?"

Rolling his eyes, Lucas just sighed. "Not that I'm not one hundred percent willing to finish this conversation," he caught her eyes and nodded softly. "But isn't kissing boys generally Riley's department?" He almost retracted the comment when her entire face contorted.

"Yes." Her body jerked up again, and Lucas almost had to close his eyes to keep from getting dizzy. "Of course!" And the sarcasm was out. "Because I'm the kind of best friend that's going to interrupt Riles's Intro to Psych lecture with the news that – yet again – I can't control myself and I more or less molested her uncle in Christian's kitchen."

Well at least he finally understood why she was upset. "Is the location going to be on the test?"

Eyes blown wide, Maya shrieked, " _Lucas Tristan_!"

"First of all," he started, sitting up a little straighter. "Take a damn breath."

She did.

Two in fact.

"Now." He almost wished that he had had the frame of mind to answer this call on his laptop because then he wouldn't have to hold his phone while he navigated the minefield that was Maya Hart. "Is the part that's bothering you how good it was?" When did this become his life? Seriously? What did he do to deserve waking up to this? While he and Maya had called audibles quite a few times in their sordid relationship, they'd never actually had a conversation about the way that they guy she was putting him on hold for made her feel, or vice versa. "Did Joshua Matthews 'rock your world' and you're terrified that that means that your little crush isn't over?"

"'Rocked my world'?" Maya's breathing had returned to normal, as if she too had finally realized that absurdity of this conversation, and shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far." Her face scrunched again as she thought. "I mean, I don't have a whole lot to compare it to, Cowboy." While her tone was playful, her eyes were Wide. "You're the only person I've kissed in the last six months."

"I don't recall you complaining, Shortstack."

Tongue in cheek, Maya's smile was back. "If I ever start, you have permission to smack me." He nodded, happy that he could, at least, get a smile. "But we weren't talking about how awesome you are at everything."

"No, you were rapidly making me question why I returned your text this morning." He twisted slightly and flopped backward on the couch. "I don't need to know how good it was, or any details, really." He wouldn't be aware of it until much, much later, but his own smile had faded and his eyes narrowed. "What I want to know is what's got you so freaked you're trying to deny this kisses existence."

He should have known that it wouldn't be that easy.

There was a noise behind her and Maya turned, motioning to someone off-screen. "I forgot I promised Renee that she and I could grab breakfast before class."

He refused to tell her that it was more perfectly timed than he was comfortable with.

Instead, he locked eyes with her and shook his head. "Text me," he commanded.

"I will." A quick kiss and a hand gesture, and she was gone.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring at the ceiling fan and trying to gather his thoughts. But when his phone beeped again, the twinkle from Back to the Future a refreshing change from this morning's events, and he didn't bother to look at the message itself as he thumbed over to his call log, holding down the number 4 until speed dial took over.

Farkle answered on the second ring, hyper-caffeinated, "what's up man" giving him just what he needed for his shoulders to relax.

* * *

He'd almost given up on her actually doing what she said she would.

The most he'd gotten from Maya during the day was a snap of her behind the counter at _Topanga's_ with the caption 'service was slow, I had to make my own,' and an Instagram picture of her latest English Lit essay (she got a 92). She didn't text him directly about anything else. And he was trying to figure out just how he was going to broach the conversation again without threatening to get Riley involved for the bulk of the day.

Lucas had been on his way home from a late dinner in the dining hall – Fridays meant The Animal Body and Cell Biology and Genetics back to back, which made for a long day – when his favorite little droid reminded him that he hadn't silenced his phone before entering the lecture hall.

He didn't want to admit that his first thought was about how she was planning on dodging the subject this time.

 **There are too many ways this could go wrong.**

So it seemed that they were jumping straight into the deep end. He couldn't help but be a little relieved that she was closing herself off this time. Not that he didn't mean what he said earlier. Lucas was there for whatever Maya needed him to be, but it was so much easier for him not to have to do it with a smile on his face. Faux cheerfulness was just too damn tiring.

 **It was just one kiss**. He reminded her carefully.

When she didn't respond, he took a breath. A trill ran down his spine at the thought of helping her work through this if her first kiss with Josh had ended the same way theirs had, half dressed with her on top of Shawn's kitchen counter. Sometimes he still had a problem looking Hunter in the eye.

He was almost officially halfway back to the townhouses when his phone chirped again.

 **One kiss with my best friend's uncle.**

 **And it's not like there's not a single member of that damn family that doesn't want to talk things to death.**

 **Auggie**. He typed without thinking. The text bubble appeared and disappeared, and he was only sure she was trying to come up with a suitable insult for him. **Ava's got him trained pretty well**. Lucas amended.

One minute, then another, and Lucas finally gave up waiting for her to respond, hitting the word next to her name and then the phone icon. After the first two rings he honestly thought she might be trying to ignore him. He didn't need her to say 'hello' when the call finally connected. Which was good, because she didn't.

"Can I make a suggestion?" There was a faint 'mm-hmm' and Lucas realized that he had come to a dead stop next to a light post. "Don't make this a thing." He wasn't sure about her, but suddenly he had a flashback of a lifetime ago, sitting way too close on a hotel bed.

She repeated his words cautiously as if it was the first time it occurred to her to take a step back.

"At least not yet." Lucas dropped his water bottle on the bench next to him. "I mean, you've had more exciting first kisses," and okay, it was possible that he trying to do a bit more than give her perspective.

There was a pause and then, "really?"

"You've been stressing about this all day," he said at last. "And exactly how far has it gotten you?"

She apparently shifted on her bed, the microphone on her headset rubbing in her hair. "Nee bought me breakfast," she said after a moment, "And I got a pedi after my last class."

"Because that's _totally_ what I meant." He laughed anyway. "You kissed, and then you forced normal on him." Lucas didn't have to be told this, he knew how Maya worked. "Why don't you hold the freak out until you actually have something to freak out about?"

She shifted again, and from his side he could hear her take a sip of something. "And what if there is something to freak out about?" She said at last. "What happens if I can't get ahead of this?"

And that was the entire reason why Lucas was willing to sit here and discuss relationships with Maya. Because behind the iridescent vivacious woman she projected to the world, Maya Hart was still absolutely terrified of being wrong. Most wrong decisions were minimal. A grade here, an acquaintance there. It was inconsequential, she could anticipate those. Those she could get in front of.

"You and I are on the phone at least once a day." It was texts and pictures mostly, but they talked just as often.

It was quiet for too long. Lucas actually had to check his phone to make sure she hadn't disconnected. "This isn't the kind of crazy you signed up for." Maya's voice was suddenly too small.

But he had surrendered to the push and pull of Maya Hart their junior year of high school because it was what they both needed. He wasn't going to give it up because she needed more than he did today. "I signed up for Maya Hart." He reminded her carefully, "No matter the kind of crazy."

"You most likely need a shower."

The laughter was back, and Lucas took that as a win. He grabbed his bottle and turned back toward the townhouses. "I can't smell myself, and I've only had a lab and two lectures today."

He could practically feel her scrunching her face up. "I promised Riley a FaceTime before I went out with Ali tonight."

"Leave the crazy at home, will ya?" It was as close to a 'go have fun' as he was going to give her after today.

"You coming home for Veteran's weekend?"

The Minkus's always had a big to-do for the vets at Minkus International the Saturday before Veterans day. If the weather was decent, they would most likely spend the weekend at the Hamptons house, pretending that they hadn't spent the last four months in separate cities. Even Zay had managed to find a way to get out of his Friday classes to fly up and hang out. "I wouldn't miss it." He promised her. "You want me to come out Friday morning?"

"Thursday night would be better for me."

Lucas laughed, making a mental note to text his mother the second they were off the phone. "Well if that's better for you." Another laugh and Lucas smiled. "Text me in the morning."

"Night."

Phone disconnected - and a quick message to his Mama - and Lucas finally made it back to his on-campus apartment. He threw his bottle in the trash and immediately went for a beer in the bottom of the fridge. After a full day of the life of Maya, it was going to be a stay in with the guys kind of night


	16. Part X: Aftertaste

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,800  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is in his last year at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

"This is _not_ a date."

It was the third time she'd announced it since he'd met her outside her residence hall at promptly six forty-five.

Josh wondered if she'd make it four before they had even gotten to their destination. He looked down at his sport coat, button-down, and slacks – sans tie, Maya had been extremely specific about that – and decided he was extremely well dressed for just hanging out. He would have said so too, if not for the look on Maya's face as she straightened her skirt for the third time in the cab as well.

Her faculty advisor, and so far favorite professor ever, had snuck Maya two tickets to the fall semester's BFA Exhibition and reception in order to help her see where her current course of study was going to come to fruition in four years. From everything he'd understood it was common for freshmen to be invited to the exhibit itself, but neither he nor any of his friends had heard of a freshman being given tickets to the curatorial reception held opening night. After swearing to be on time and to not embarrass him, Maya had spent the next half hour grilling Professor Torreano's teaching assistant on proper attire and etiquette.

Amelia had smiled her way through the evening study session at Christian's apartment when relating Maya's reaction to everyone the next day, complete with worry that Maya seemed torn on who the second ticket should go to. Although semi-friendly and eager to learn, Maya hadn't managed to make very many friends in the art program – and those she had she hadn't wanted to rub their face in the fact that Torreano had given her the tickets instead of someone else. Lia had told them that she felt sorry for the blonde, poor girl damn near breaking into tears when she realized that the reception was on a Tuesday night and Riley wouldn't be able to come to town. She'd offered to go shopping with her the weekend before the reception to help, though, and Josh couldn't help but be appreciative of the wine red lace-trim high-low pleated dress that they had come up with.

"Nope," Maya was muttering to herself. "Definitely not."

It had actually been Cory's idea for Josh to attend the function with her, not noticing the tension between the two of them the week before during Sunday dinner. When Maya asked Topanga if she was free, because if she was going to be terrified in front of her professor and peers she wanted her Amazon role-model to show her how it was done, Cory had offered up Josh when Topanga was forced to decline due to an early court appearance the next morning since, 'you probably already know half of these students anyway'.

He probably would have told Cory that it was a bad idea if it weren't for the fact that Maya was trying so very hard for things to be normal with them.

Beside him she murmured to herself again, and this time, he couldn't help the laugh.

"Which one of the two of us are you trying to convince of that?" Her entire body stiffened then, and Josh leaned to his side of the cab in order to get a better look at her. "I'm kidding." He caught her eye and smiled. "For the most part."

"You're not funny." Maya readjusted her clutch on her lap and took a deep breath.

Another laugh, this time brushing a stray piece of hair that had escaped Maya's messy side chignon off of her shoulder. "I honestly can't remember the last time you publically showed this much crazy." Her head turned sharply, and Josh was suddenly struck by the way the blue in her eyes popped against her muted makeup. "You could have turned Cory down when he came up with it."

Maya seemed to consider his words. "Then I'd have to do this solo." Her shoulders relaxed, or at least they tried to, he reached for another snippet of hair and she had to force herself not to flinch. "Which could very well end just as badly."

He hadn't directed his fingers to brush her chin, or to direct her to turn her face so her eyes met his. "Tonight is not going to be a disaster," Josh told her simply. "You're going to go in there, talk art with the graduate students and rub elbows with the Steinhardt board, and you're going to astonish them all with your epicness and your elegant eloquence."

There was a beat, and he was almost worried about going too far when her smile caught up to him. "Did you swallow a thesaurus sometime in your youth?"

"No," he shook his head and caught a glimpse of the banner that the school had put in front of the Grey Art Museum. "But I'm pretty sure Morgan used one to beat the hell out me at least once."

He was lying, they both knew it. There was a twelve-year difference between him and his older sister, and there was no way that Amy would have allowed it. That didn't stop Maya envisioning the only blonde Matthews child chasing her wayward brother around their parent's house, book in hand.

"Okay, you caught me." He reached into the pocket of his blazer, holding up his phone. "I'm having Cory send me inspirational texts."

She actually snorted then, her hand coming up to make sure that she didn't, somehow, ruin her makeup.

"There's a real smile."

The cab slowed to a stop outside of the gallery, and Josh had the cash ready. It may not be a date, but his mother had taught him that a lady never pays. In the split second between paying the driver and him helping Maya out of the cab, he wondered what kind of reaction he would get if he had said that aloud. He settled for holding her clutch so she could check her hair and makeup before they headed up the steps, not bothering to offer her his elbow this time.

He did make sure to catch her just as they stepped through the double doors, stopping at the coat check. "You need to remember something." Josh had to take a deep breath as Maya bit her lip, head tilting to get a better look at him. "You're Maya Hart." Their hands touched, and Josh wasn't sure which one of them had moved to make that happen. "And you are worth more than anyone else in this room."

The slow smile that pulled across her cheeks did nothing to stem the urge to kiss her. " _That_ was Riley."

Josh recovered quickly enough to spin her around and help her remove her jacket. "Smart ass."

Whatever Maya was about to say was lost in the murmur of Amelia slipping up behind them. "You're here!" The brunette stole Maya's jacket out of Josh's hands and snapping her fingers in order to get him to remove his own. "Torreano's already started the list of people you're going to meet." She handed the coats to the elderly man behind the desk and didn't wait for the slip, hooking her elbow through Maya's.

So much for needing him, Josh thought as he took the slip, flipping open his wallet and sliding it next to his ID so he was less likely to lose it. With one eye on Maya and Lia, he made his way to the bar. With a glass of sparkling cider in each hand, he trailed back over toward his non-date.

* * *

It actually amazed Josh that he managed not to get bored.

Dinner had come and gone with little fanfare. They had been seated next to Amelia and her boyfriend – a fellow artist who had a few pieces showcased in the gallery that evening – and he and Josh had snuck in a quick conversation about the Knicks while the girls were chatting with the Department Chair about impressionists. He'd also allowed Maya to lead him through the gallery, pointing out the students that she recognized, and scolding him for making fun of the pieces that she didn't.

He was in the middle of a particularly brutal commentary on an abstract painting that the thought looked like a pig when he saw Maya tense, eyes wide.

"Art may be subjective Mister Matthews," the distinctly male voice said carefully, "but you're not alone in the room. And you should be aware that your voice carries."

He, at least, had the frame of mind to appear sheepish, wiping his palm on his thigh before turning slightly. "Duly noted."

The older man smiled then, holding out a hand for him to shake. "How'd you even get in?"

He took a step back then, holding out his own arm to gesture towards Maya. "Professor Ritter, I'd like to introduce you to Maya Hart."

Maya's shoulders had dropped when she realized that the professor had been more amused by Josh's antics than upset. "You're one of John's, aren't you?" Ritter regarded her with a wide smile, nodding to himself. "His scholarship kid."

The only thing keeping her smile in place was the Hart will of steel. "Yes sir," she nodded along quickly.

"How in the hell did Matthews land someone as spectacular as you, Miss Hart?"

Josh caught the way her eyes bugged for a fraction of a second before she turned to him. "Ritter's the Urban Design APD." He nodded to the man again. "And since it's considered an independent study course, I spend a lot of time in his office."

"Which reminds me," Ritter pulled his phone from his pocket, thumbing open the calendar. "I'm going to call Mitchell about you getting Thursday off." Josh took a second to step closer to Maya and whisper that Mitchell was one of the Intern Directors at SOM. "I'm taking over a lecture series at the Abu Dhabi campus next week and I want to move our appointment up before I leave."

"I think I can manage that," Josh pulled his own device out then, making a quick note before sliding it back into his pocket. "And I haven't landed Maya," he corrected slowly.

Maya wasn't sure whether or not to be offended by the fact that Josh was making that distinction. The words 'this is not a date' rang through her mind and she almost kicked herself. Of course he would be as adamant as she was, it had been her decision after all.

"That actually sounds like a personal problem." Ritter's smile was still wide, and Maya decided that she wouldn't be upset at him for it. "Beautiful and talented young woman like her," Ritter smiled at her again, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"I think that's my cue to see if you'd like another drink." It took Maya a good second to realize that Josh was looking at her. She certainly didn't know when it was that he had appropriated her glass. "If I stand here much longer the only thing we'll be discussing Tuesday is why I'm perpetually single."

Ritter shrugged. "I'm not seeing a problem with that."

Josh's hand drifted to Maya's hip and he caught her eyes with his. "I'll be right back." He seemed to whisper. "Listen to none of what he tells you."

"I'll try," Maya promised sternly.

Two steps away Josh listened as his professor had steered the conversation to Maya's own work and the relation between that and what was currently being showcased. He deposited the glasses on a tray in the corner of the gallery room and marveled at the fact that it only took three steps into the ante-gallery to find a member of the catering staff holding out fresh glasses.

"Did you lose your date?" Lia stepped out from behind one of the sculptures, boyfriend on her arm.

"Ritter stole her." Josh gestured vaguely in the direction he had just come, not at all surprised that Maya and his advisor had apparently been joined by another art professor since he had left. From his position, he could tell that she was terrified, albeit ecstatic. "And do _not_ let her hear you call it a date."

"Which one of you is in denial?" He wasn't sure how Lia had managed her tongue in cheek smile.

His eye roll was automatic. "Neither." Why did no one believe them? "She just couldn't find anyone else to come with her."

Kissing her date on the cheek so Jackson could join the conversation happening in the next room, Lia watched as Josh smiled when Maya did. "I remember," but Lia's smile was too knowing, and Josh could see the wheels in her head turning.

This would be the part where he reiterated that Maya was his niece's best friend and that she'd been in the family almost as long as he had. Then again, the more he reminded himself of that, the more he realized that even flirting with half the ideas that had been running through his head that night were accompanied by big flashing neon signs. The friends outing was working though, with minimal hiccups, so he was hopeful.

He didn't realize that he was staring at Maya, or that she and Jackson had begun to discuss the piece on the wall behind her with the two professors. There was also a moment of brief panic when Josh realized the piece he was making fun of belonged to Jackson.

It must have shown on his face because a second later Lia let out a laugh. "I hate that canvas too," she whispered none too softly. "But Miller loves it, so Jack put it in."

"I was recently reminded that art is subjective," he cracked back. Maya's eyes caught his from the other side of the room, and Josh didn't hesitate to nod to Lia before maneuvering between the patrons to provide her drink.

"You don't have to stay for the settling of the bids," the older professor was saying, gesturing to the pieces around the room. "We could be here half the night "

Everything about Maya told him that she was relieved that he had shown up, and she'd been given a reprieve. "Only if you're sure," she caught herself saying.

But the woman was already waving Maya off. "It was lovely to meet you, Miss Hart."

Josh nodded to Ritter over the top of Maya's head, and he knew the second he dropped the palm of his hand to her lower back to lead her from the room that he was going to be hearing about it at their next meeting.

They took the long way back to the antechamber, Maya commenting on almost every single piece between the two. Josh watched as she stopped to say something to one of the artists who apparently had a piece purchased that evening, both girls feeding off of each other's excitement. He was completely unaware as to how Maya knew the girl – or even her name – but he stood back and allowed Maya to share in the moment. When they finally reached the entrance, he pulled his wallet, handing the clerk a few ones along with their stubs.

"Well you have had a hell of a night," he whispered to her as he helped her slide her coat back on. "I don't think there's a person here who doesn't know Maya Hart."

"Half of them will forget me the second they get home," she was beaming, no matter what she said, and Josh rested one hand low on her hip so he could urge her forward and grab the door at the same time.

He held it through both of them exiting, and he almost apologized for his hand flexing against her when he came to a full stop to hold the door open for an elderly couple exiting after them. Maya didn't seem to notice though, caught somewhere between pride, joy, and deflating adrenaline. She waved to someone further down the sidewalk, canvas box tucked against their side.

"We both know that's not true." Josh wasn't sure which one of them stopped short, but Maya turned and leaned against the no parking sign. They would have to wander closer to Waverly in order to properly hail a cab, but he wasn't in any hurry if she wasn't. "Ritter knew your name before I introduced you."

"You sure you didn't slip him some cash during your last appointment?" The sarcasm didn't quite reach her eyes though.

Josh leaned into her, arm braced above her head on the post. "Well I am making the big bucks," he considered. Her eyes caught his then, and they seemed to realize just how close they had gotten in the last few seconds. "Come on," taking a step back Josh held out his arm. "Let's get you home before someone tries to steal you."

"They'd bring me back," she said after a moment, stopping just long enough to readjust the strap of her heel against her ankle. "I've been told I'm an acquired taste."

"That's not a risk I'm willing to take." He spun her then, for no better reason than to listen to her laugh.

Maya stopped short on the sidewalk, watching the cabs fight for position on the curb. She'd tried to be so careful all night, and was trying to combat the astonishment that it was now over. There was also a not so small part of herself that was wondering where the flirting had come from. She had decided that they were friends. And friends didn't flirt. A buzz from her purse contradicted her, and her favorite droid seemed to remind Maya that it was entirely possible for friends to flirt. She didn't reach for her phone; Lucas was most likely just checking to see if she had made it through the night with her nerves intact.

Her next smile was slower. Flirting was fine, she could stay ahead of that. She was used to that. "Is this the part where you insist on seeing me to my door?"

"This isn't a date, Hart." He reminded her with flourish. "Which means I'll pay the cabbie and trust you can get from the street to your bed on your own." He stepped up then, holding his arm out and catching the eye of the taxi driver in the yellow cab closest to them. Josh nodded toward Maya, and the driver flicked the top light off.

Shaking her head, Maya laughed. "And how long have those been the rules?" She wondered aloud.

He shrugged. "Since now?"

Josh should have known that he had just opened himself up for more teasing. After all, they had managed to banish the awkwardness early on in favor of their evening. "You're sure that's the only difference?"

It was her fault. He was fully prepared to blame his next set of actions solely on Maya and her reckless half grin. Had she just given him a hug and climbed into the cab, nothing else would have happened that night. They would have safely navigated their way through their first outing as new friends.

But she hadn't.

So he matched her grin, bracing one arm on the top of the car. "There's another."

He watched her eyes flick from his eyes to his lips and back again. "Only two differences between an evening with a friend and a date with Josh Matthews?" Maya leaned back to get a better look at his face. "Well, now you've got me curious." This was rapidly approaching the point where it was no longer harmless flirting, but Maya bit her lip anyway. She was still in control. "What's the second? So, you know, I can avoid it in the future."

She was too flirty, her eyes too bright. Josh realized a little too late that she knew what was coming before he did.

"The end of a date looks something like this," he wasn't entirely sure that he had actually said the words, before sliding his hand against the lapel of her jacket and caressing her neck. Maya was the one to pull closer, of that he was positive. The hand that held her clutch grasped his jacket, dragging herself up onto her toes so she could meet his kiss head on.

Josh tried not to count the differences between the last time they were in this position and now. It was less frantic, slower. Maya seemed perfectly content to curl her body into his and allow him to lead. She snaked her tongue between them, and he smiled at the taste of carbonated mint. His touch was lighter, and Maya's nails didn't embed themselves into his skin. There was also no Christian this time, no Austin or messes to clean, and when her breath finally hitched, and Maya dropped her heels so air could fill her lungs, he didn't think twice about following her down, stooping slightly to get one more peck in before reality came calling.

When their eyes locked again, Josh watched a hint of uncertainty flutter through her face, before her smile brought the twinkle back.

"But this isn't a date," he told her carefully, slipping around her to open the door to the cab.

"This isn't a date," Maya repeated. Her mouth opened as if she had something else to add, before running a hand from his cheek to his sternum. "Good night Josh."

He nodded gently, his lips mouthing back to her. When she was fully seated, he slid the door shut again, waving dumbly. It wasn't until the cab was out of sight and he had hailed himself another one that Josh realized that she had gotten out of him paying for her ride home. He thought about scolding her via text message – because calling her so soon after her leaving him just screamed pathetic – but opted out, choosing instead to send a quick message to Austin, telling him he was on his way home and asking if they still had the curry in the fridge.

Josh got back a thumbs up emoji, and a picture of the lone cardboard box on the top shelf reminding him that one of them really would need to get to the store sometime in the near future. They tried to keep a schedule, they really did, it just didn't always seem to work out.

Opening up the following text, again from his roomie, Josh lost it in the back seat, laughing far too long and way too hard for him to be sure he was still sane.

 **How was your date?**

Josh contemplated the many different answers that he could have responded with. None of them seemed right. He leaned back in against his seat and shook his head.

 **It wasn't a date.**

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I'm currently working on the creation of album covers for my 8tracks playlists. If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

"We're friends," she said calmly, her wringing hands betraying her facade. "And sometimes friends kiss, right?"


	17. Part XI: Bumper Cars

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,683  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in College, Josh is in his last year at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song _Sooner or Later_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Quick Author's Note: I just wanted to take a minute and recognize two very special gals who have kept me going on this story. ElleRose77, you are a WONDERFUL beta, and I'm so thankful to have you there to catch all of my mistakes. And Hanna, thank you for being there to listen to me ramble. Even when I'm putting off chapters, you still understand.

 **Extra Note** : I answer each and ever signed review I get. If you have a question, or would like a response, come out of the woodwork.

* * *

There was nothing Josh loved more than getting a frantic phone call from his brother the night before resuming his schedule, after almost an entire week off from both internship and school. He'd spent Thanksgiving in Philly with the bulk of his family, trying very hard not to stay attached to his phone. Not that it rang. He had gotten the same generic "Happy Thanksgiving" message that Maya seemed to send out to everyone. Well, generic in that it was two buttons away from being in a mass text. There was absolutely nothing generic about the digital canvas that she had created a visionary cornucopia she had doodled 'Happy Thanksgiving' onto the corner of.

It had taken him a lot longer than he was willing to admit to type back a quick 'you too'.

He'd, at least, included a turkey emoji.

But none of that was relevant as his brother was practically screaming in his ear about forgetting a dinner with the Michelson's,– and that he had sworn to his wife that he was perfectly capable of arranging proper care for the child they still had at home.

"I need you!"

It actually didn't matter that he had told his brother that he was on his way – twice – or that he was actually in the process of meeting his brother at the Bleecker Street station, coming up the stairs with one hand on his bag to try to keep his balance. "I'm here." He ended the call and tapped his brother on the shoulder, shaking his head. "You officially have an Auggie-sitter."

"You're the best little brother ever." He was being hugged and drug up the street all at the same time. It would have been disorienting if he were actually able to see where he was going.

"And I shall continue to be unless one of us trips and we get run over." Cory seemed to stop moving then, hands still in place. "Halfway there, buddy." Another beat and Cory's hand finally dropped. "There we go."

He had another minute to breathe before Cory grabbed his arm and propelled him down the sidewalk. "And if she asks, this is not last minute."

It was a shame that even lying for him most likely wouldn't help his brother. Topanga was bound to know that Cory had forgotten. After all, not only was his wife one of the most brilliant people on the planet, she probably knew Cory better than he knew himself. And if he was this squirrely on the phone with her before he called and begged Josh for help, there was no way that he could possibly hide it when they got to the house.

But Josh nodded slowly all the same, following Cory down the sidewalk quickly. "Do you have a problem with me ordering takeout?" He asked when their pace slowed slightly.

Cory shook his head. "As long as Auggie eats, I don't care what you feed him."

He tried not to chuckle. He was unsuccessful.

Instead, Josh simply followed Cory up the steps and into the building, giving the door a good shove to make sure it clicked behind him. When they got to his front door, however, Cory paused, straightened, and took a deep breath. There was actually a moment when it actually seemed like he would be able to hold himself together. Then he swung open the door.

"Maya."

Josh physically slammed into his brother's back as Cory came to an abrupt halt in his doorway. He coughed, trying to figure out the best way to move around the five foot ten frame. "What?"

"Maya," Cory repeated, finally taking a step forward, "Is in my kitchen." The older Matthews paused again, although this time Josh was able to actually enter the living room. "Why is Maya in my kitchen?"

Clacking announced the arrival of Cory's wife, signaling that not only had she realized that he had forgotten dinner, but he was late and more than a little underdressed. "Maya so graciously agreed to give up her shift at the café tonight to keep an eye on our son." She handed her husband a new tie and laid a blazer over the back of the couch. "Last week," she yanked the tie he'd worn to school off of her husband's neck, not bothering to pay attention to the fact that he was still staring at Maya and Auggie. "When I realized you didn't really mean it when you said you'd handle this."

"I had it handled." Cory's indignant shriek had almost everyone stifling laughter. Then he turned to Josh. "See. Brother." He gestured from his wife to Josh. "Handled."

Maya chuckled again, finally admitting that she had been paying attention. "I'm still getting paid," she stage whispered to Josh, enjoying the fact that Cory seemed to still be struck dumb.

"I was doing it for free," Josh held up his hand carefully, pulling his bag over his shoulder.

Maya's eyebrow quirked. "You should have held out for a better offer."

It was Josh's turn to laugh. "I'm starting to get that."

Topanga was still staring at her husband as he tied his tie. "And how long ago did you 'handle' getting Josh to watch Auggie?"

"Say nothing," Cory whispered to his brother through gritted teeth.

Instead, Josh dropped his bag on the couch and turned toward the table. "You guys decide on dinner?"

"Auggie picked Pagani," Maya reached around the kid for the takeout menu sitting on the counter, sliding it toward Josh.

"Sounds good to me." He flipped the paper open and smiled at the gold stars that Topanga had taken to marking what everyone wanted on menus. "You want me to call it in?"

The blonde just shook her head. "There's an app for that now." Keeping one eye on Auggie and his math, she thumbed open her phone, tabbed over to the correct screen, and hit the app. Then she flipped her phone around and slid it across the table. "Just make sure you pick 'cash'." She gave him a quick wink before glancing back at Auggie's work and returning to her own reading.

After sufficiently changing and reprimanding her husband, Topanga slid her own jacket on and reached for her purse. "We shouldn't be out too late," and as much as Cory hoped, he wasn't as successful at pointing behind her back and pantomiming the words 'she's lying!' A quick push later and the older Matthews was on his way to the front door. "Maya's got the cash for dinner, Auggie needs to be in bed by 9, and absolutely no video games until his homework's done."

One more blown kiss and the door closed behind them.

Taking a deep breath, Auggie leaned back in his chair. "I thought they'd never leave."

Thumbing through Maya's app, placing the dinner order, Josh spared a glance to his nephew. "Your mom been stressing about this for a while?"

"Edith Michaelson is on the review board for the partnership panel." While Topanga had long since made junior partner at her firm, getting to the next step had been a lot more work than she had been comfortable putting in while Riley was still in high school. Managing her work commitments with the café and two children's social schedules was definitely harder than juggling just Auggie. It probably helped that Maya had stepped up as much as possible at the café, and Katy had recommended an excellent manager when she'd gotten her acting break. "The board votes in January, and she doesn't think she'll be up for campaigning again if she doesn't get it."

"She'll get it." Josh passed the phone back across the table, wishing that he didn't have to pull himself up and go grab his bag. He still had thirty pages on the Economics of Urban Amenities that he had to get through before class tomorrow morning. He was halfway to the couch before he stopped to appreciate the fact that Maya was there for him to tag team Auggie with. There was actually a chance that he would be able to do it without staying up all night. It came with the incessant urge to double-check that they were both still comfortable with whatever the hell they were supposed to call their new normal. Maya caught his pause out of the corner of her eye, head tilting up slightly. Josh supposed that if she could avoid discussing it, so could he. For now.

He was drawn back to the table just in time to see Auggie slam his math book closed with a grunt. "Finally!" He shouted to the ceiling. "Can I play COD now?"

Just as Josh was about to say yes, he realized that the question was directed to the blonde. "As long as you wear your headset," she conceded. "I don't need to be reminded that Ava's mouth is filthier than mine." When Josh cocked an eyebrow at her, she nodded and mouthed, "You have _no_ idea."

Television on, Auggie occupied, and Josh was finally able to get a good look at the woman in front of him. She was tired, and not in the way that he would actually comment on. Something told him that the weariness in her eyes had anything to do with lack of sleep. Instead, he dropped his texts on the table across from her, pulling his iPad folio out next, and slipping his hand along the bottom of his bag for his pen.

He could have sworn he could see a slow smile spread across Maya's lips as she regarded his work inspired study essentials. Her eyes cut to her own spiral bound notebook – grid instead of lined so she could doodle at regular intervals – and she shook her head before closing her eyes, leaning back on the bench.

"You okay?"

"Me? Yeah." Maya spared a glance to Auggie before running a hand through her hair. "Just winding down, I guess." She sighed, dropping the highlighter into the crease of the pages. "Last few weeks have been a little bizarre." Was Josh imagining it, or did Maya's glance actually drop to his lips. "And I think this was the first holiday I can remember that I was without at least one member of the Matthews clan."

Josh had found it odd as well that Maya hadn't joined them at his parent's house for the week. When he'd asked about it, Riley had launched into an incredibly detailed story about how Shawn had been invited to Martha's Vineyard with Jack and his family, and he'd invited Maya and her mom along because with her touring schedule Katy could be in town, but had absolutely no time to prepare. There may have been a little speculation that it meant that Katy and Shawn were going to give it another shot. Riley had also let it slip that Maya didn't know how to act around Jack, so she was spending the holiday hiding on the widows walk, sketchbook in one hand and phone in the other.

Due to the fact that Riley had frozen and mumbled something about 'ring power' after revealing that little tidbit, Josh chose to pretend that he'd never heard it. "That has the potential to be a little disorienting," he admitted with a smile, Auggie shouting 'die dirtbag' somewhere behind him.

"Just a little bit lonely," she granted. "Having Mom there was awesome, though." Maya's eyes lit up again, and Josh felt compelled to smile along with her. "And now Shawn's home for the month," another smile, this one slightly dimmer. "Which means that I have to adapt my studying to fit him – and that's if I decide to study at the apartment – I'm still trying to get used to Renee."

Transfers and move outs were a fact of college life. Sometimes students found that their expectation differed from reality so much that they couldn't cope. In Sarah's case, she went a tad too wild with the freshman partying. Halfway through their first semester, she pulled herself out of school and moved back to Seattle when she discovered she was pregnant. Maya wished that she could have said it surprised her. Housing certainly did, though, moving the girl that could very well be her evil twin in within a week of Sarah moving out. Maya's only actual downside to Renee was the fact that she didn't have a set study schedule, so it was extremely difficult to plan around her.

"Mid-terms kicked my ass," she admitted, "I'm _terrified_ of finals."

"Why don't you come to my place?" The words were out of his mouth before he thought that they might be awkwardly perceived. Mayas eyes bugged and Josh suddenly felt the urge to backtrack. "I'm at S.O.M. most nights until 6, and Austin works at the student union on weekdays but we have a very strict study buddy policy." Said policy didn't technically go into effect until next week when finals crested over the horizon, but Josh was sure he could convince his roomie to help Maya out. "And looming finals means gourmet coffee, all you can eat Sour Patch Kids, and plenty of Red Bull."

Her smile dipped as she considered it. "That's a very convincing sales pitch, Matthews." She was leaning against the table on her elbows now, and it would take very little effort on his part to bridge the gap and brush his lips against hers. Not that he was thinking about kissing her again. His eyes dipped to her lips and he bit his lips as he shook his head. Not at all. "You sure that it won't be…" She licked her bottom lip absently, words failing.

"We're friends." He offered quickly. "And friends don't let friends fail finals."

Nodding to herself, Maya returned to her text. "I just might take you up on that," she said carefully.

* * *

Dinner was a flourish of activity – since Josh had demanded that Auggie eat it at the table like a real boy – with food trading, silverware passing, and maybe a touch of theft. He didn't even bother to rebuke Maya when she stole a grape tomato out of his folded chicken. He simply relieved her plate of gnocchi while Auggie distracted her with polenta. The kid successfully pulled Maya away from studying afterward, with a crack about her age and _LittleBigPlanet_. Josh had even jumped from the table to the oversized chair so he could be a witness to the 'ass kickery' that was about to occur. He wasn't even about to point out the game didn't have a versus mode, so they would be forced to work together.

When eight-thirty rolled around, it hit him that he may have to be the adult in the room and force Auggie to prep himself for bed.

"Hate to do this to you, bud." The game had been paused, and Maya was holding up her phone. "But the rules and regulations state that this is your thirty-minute warning." The way she smiled over at the kid told Josh that she had been doing this for his brother more than she'd let on. "Are you showering tonight or in the morning?"

"Tomorrow." Showering in the morning meant an earlier wake-up, which wasn't a big deal for him. Auggie set the controller on the coffee table and turned. "If I get my face washed and teeth brushed, can we finish this level?"

Maya seemed to consider it for a minute. "Promise me you won't BS brushing your teeth?" She held her right hand up in a fist, friendship ring on full display.

"Promise,' Auggie spared a second to fist bump her offered hand, before turning and running full tilt to the bathroom.

"Did you just 'ring power' my nephew?" Josh ran a hand over his face.

There was a moment where Maya seemed to be considering it. "Not _technically_ ," she allowed, sitting back on the couch and propping her feet up on the coffee table. "He and I just have this thing."

"A thing?" He sat up fully now, realizing that since moving the coffee table over so he could put his books on it, he was far closer to her than they originally thought. "Like a you and Riley thing, or a me and you thing –"

He was cut off by a laugh. "A me and Auggie thing." Maya paused to listen for the running of water before turning back to him. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but ten is definitely too young."

"It's only eight years." He dropped his pen onto the table, leaning in. "What's eight years in the history of love?"

It was Maya that kissed him this time, of that he was absolutely sure. He hadn't even been aware that she had switched positions until her lips were on his. It was quick and sweet, and Josh noted that Maya's tongue ran across his lips before she pulled back. His mouth opened, and Josh tried to take a deep breath before actually saying anything.

The thundering of feet curtailed any kind of conversation, though, and Auggie launched himself over the back of the couch and snatched his controller with one long motion. "Sackboy's back in action!"

And as per usual – and he suspected that she preferred it this way – Maya recovered faster than he did, seizing her own controller and hitting the button to resume the action. "Last level," she confirmed, doing everything in her power to not look back over to Josh. "Then you have to get to bed, and I can go back to memorizing impressionists."

"Does college completely suck?" The question was off-handed, and Josh threw a glance to where his nephew didn't even seem to be paying attention to the fact that he'd spoken. "All you talk about now is work."

"It doesn't suck," Maya shook her head, trying to get her Sackgirl up on the ledge to grab a sticker. "It's just kind of like high school on steroids."

"You get to pick your classes," Josh added slowly. "And your schedule, mostly." Auggie nodded, racing Maya to the next sticker. "You can sleep in most days." He wanted to point out that Maya didn't get out of bed until after nine for a class, but he didn't know if it was something that he should admit to knowing. "Although the tests are harder, and impending adulthood isn't always awesome."

His Sackboy fell off of a ledge, and Maya laughed. "But you have years before you have to think about any of that. _Years_." They hit the last stage and Maya hung back, letting him direct her. "And many many more opportunities for me to say," they finished, the game saved and Maya dropped the controller on the couch beside her. "Bedtime!"

"That was almost adorable," Josh laughed as Auggie vaulted himself over the coffee table to give him a quick hug. "You need someone to tuck you in?"

The boy stopped, pulling back. "Can I get a story too?" Auggie's eyes were wide and he clutched at his uncle's arm. "And hot cocoa?"

Josh threw a questioning look to Maya, who simply smiled at him. "Do you usually get story time and hot cocoa?"

"Would I lie to you?"

Tapping drew him back to Maya, who shook her head slightly. "That wasn't a yes." Josh found that his head was shaking now as well. "How about you just go to bed?"

Auggie groaned, turning to Maya. "I was _this_ close."

"I saw it," she stood. "Maybe next time, kiddo." Josh watched as they bumped fists again, and Maya pointed to the hallway. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Auggie nodded and shuffled out of the room. "Night Auggie!"

"'See you tomorrow?'" Maya was in the process of shutting down the Playstation and plugging the controllers in to charge. It brought him back to their previous conversation. "You and he have a date?"

The snort was unladylike and slightly painful. Maya's nose scrunched even as she wiped her face. "Auggie asked for my help in picking out a birthday present for Riley." She left the television on, flipping over to the Apple TV and syncing it with her phone. "He's meeting me at the café so we can go shopping."

He caught her glance as she scrolled through her phone, pulling up a playlist simply labeled 'study more'. The screen told him that the first song on the list was by Andra Day. "That's this weekend, isn't it?" Josh swore he was better with dates than his history was proving him to be.

"Yep," Maya turned then, pocketing her phone. "Your niece turns the big one eight next Sunday." There was a glimmer in her eye as she spoke about it. "I'm taking the train up Friday night to spend the weekend with her."

"Then I'll just have to make sure you've got something to give her from me." He dropped back into his seat with a soft thud. His eyes followed her to the table, as she collected a few of her school books, before heading back to the couch. Her step was light, and when she positioned herself on the end, facing him, he realized that she really was going to skirt right over their recurring issue. _Don't do it_ , his mind cautioned him, even as he was sitting up and moving his iPad off of the arm of the chair. _Don't bring it up_. "You kissed me." It wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, and definitely not how he planned to say it, but it came out anyway.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Maya freeze, taking a quick breath before readjusting her texts. "I did."

He popped the knuckles on his left hand, trying his hardest to keep looking at her. "Maya," his fingers twitched. She still didn't look up. "You kissed me." Maya nodded, head down. She shuffled a few more pages and opened her notebook back up to where she'd left it. When she mouthed the same two words over, he tilted his chin, watching her try not to do the same. "Are we not going to talk about that?"

"We didn't talk about the last kiss," her voice was insistent. "Or the one before that."

"We talked before the one before that." And yes, he really did just almost confuse himself. "Or, rather, you talked. I just kind of stood there dumbly as you announced that any relationship we would have is doomed from the start and the fallout would be catastrophic, so we might as well just skip it." If he didn't know any better, Josh would have said that Maya had started to blush. "And the night of the BFAE –" was it right for him to point out that she had instigated that kiss. That she had wanted it just as much as he had. "I thought you just wanted to be friends."

Her nod was automatic. "I do," she said immediately. Something in the way the words came out of her mouth said that if that was all she was getting, she would be happy with it. "Josh, we are friends."

"Then what's up with the kissing?" There might actually come a point in Josh's life when he would start to count the number of ridiculous sentences that he uttered in the presence of Maya Hart. Something told him that this was far from the last.

Maya picked at the nail of the finger she wore her friendship ring on with the thumbnail of the opposite hand. "This relationship _is_ doomed from the start," she began, wishing that she weren't sitting on Cory and Topanga's couch and there could have been a bottle in her hand. "But that doesn't mean that I –" She swallowed mid-word.

"You want to kiss me?" It was a statement much more than a question, but Josh allowed it roll off his tongue anyway. "There's just no hope of it ever going anywhere."

Was Maya shaking again? "It _can't_ go anywhere." She was more adamant this time. "You're a Matthews -"

"Really?" His voice was more flippant than he thought it should be. "I wasn't aware."

"You're Riley's uncle," she spoke over him. "If things are good, and I mean _really_ good, she _might_ be okay with this." Maya cringed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "But if they're not – and let's face it here, I'm a disaster just waiting to happen. The longest relationship I've _ever_ had is a friend with benefits situation with a guy that deserves _so_ much more – then we're going to have to deal with the fallout, and things are going to get awkward for her – which one of us is she going to side with? Birthdays. Holidays. it would make things really difficult for her, and I just can't do that."

Josh wanted to make a comment about how she used to complain that Riley could ramble. Then he caught the look in her eye and he just couldn't do it. Maya was genuinely concerned with the effect that any relationship she had could possibly have on her best friend. "You'd really give it all up for Riley?"

He hadn't realized that he'd spoken aloud until Maya nodded. "I think you misjudged how much I value my friendship."

It seemed he'd misjudged a lot of things. "So it doesn't go anywhere." He started, pulling himself up out of the chair. Never in his life had he thought it possible to understand what had started her arrangement with Lucas. If the younger man saw just a fraction of what he did when he looked at Maya, it was no wonder that he'd been willing to take what she offered. Josh set himself onto the couch next to her, hand running up her leg. "We're friends."

Maya took a shaky breath. She'd managed to stay ahead of this. "We're friends," she repeated calmly, her wringing hands betraying her façade. "And sometimes, friends kiss, right?"

It was the out she was looking for. An excuse to keep acting on whatever feelings she was fighting for the sake of her friendship. "I have heard of a few." This probably wasn't the time to bring up Friar or their arrangement.

There wasn't a word to describe the look that crossed her face. Maya dropped one hand to Josh's, her smile soft. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime." Josh let go of her hand and moved to stand again.

"Hey, Josh?" He turned before he could get to his feet, and Maya's arm reached out for him again. "Sometimes friends kiss, right?"

He couldn't help the laugh this time. "Auggie's upstairs," he reminded her.

Leveraging Maya into his lap took almost no effort on Josh's part. She paid no heed to the textbook that slid onto the floor, focusing instead on the way his hands anchored to her hips, and their lips brushed. Maya kissed the way she lived, it seemed, confident and wild. He lost track of how many times their lips touched, and he tried to ignore the steady hum in the back of his mind telling him he'd just agreed to the one situation that only guaranteed that this will blow up in his face later.

When Cory and Topanga arrived back at home a little before eleven, they were back on two separate sides of the room, fully immersed in their own studies. They shared a look when Cory asked if they'd had any trouble, and another kiss before they separated at the Bleecker Street station, Maya on the M headed toward Shawn's and Josh waiting for the 6 to his own.

"Text me your schedule for the next few weeks," he told her sternly as her train pulled into the station. "So Austin and I know when to expect you."

Maya saluted him with the arm that wasn't steadying her tote. "Yes, sir."

"And text me when you get home!" He called after her, a smile tugging his cheeks.

Her response was to stick her tongue out at him, the doors muffling her laughter.

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I'm still hoping that someone will save me from the creation of album covers for my 8tracks playlists. If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

If he thought they could get away with it, Lucas would have begged for one of her traveling companions to confiscate Maya's phone the second they left Penn. It was a shame that Farkle loved her too much, and Will would most likely lose an appendage.


	18. Interlude: Out of the Woods

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,050  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other characters featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is unbeta'd in the interest of getting it out to you faster. All mistakes are mine

* * *

It was pretty fair to say that if his cell phone chirped one more time in the next minute and a half, Lucas Friar was going to toss the damn thing out the window.

And then he was going to hop out of the cab of the truck and retrieve it.

He was annoyed, not stupid.

It was a four-hour drive from Ithaca to New Haven, and while Lucas didn't mind road tripping – especially not for an occasion such as surprising Riley for her eighteenth birthday – he really wished that he could have done it without Maya texting him every few minutes worrying about him being on time to pick them up from the train station and that everything would be perfect.

Yes, he was aware that he needed to leave the townhouse before noon. Yes, he made sure the truck was clean yesterday between classes. That was also when he had made sure to remind his professors that he had arranged to miss his Friday classes and that he would get both the lectures and work from someone so he wouldn't miss anything. No, Maya really didn't need to remind him to pack his present to Riley, and she certainly didn't need to tell him three times that the train was early. And yes, he was abiding by the state regulated speed limit.

If he thought they could get away with it, Lucas would have begged for one of her traveling companions to confiscate Maya's phone the second they left Penn. It was a shame that Farkle loved her too much, and Will would most likely lose an appendage.

There was a brief moment when Lucas wondered if they knew she was as freaked out about this as he did. He was also curious as to whether or not her agitation was one hundred percent equated with Riley's birthday. This was a hell of a lot of anxiety over a weekend with friends, no matter the occasion.

R2D2 beeped again, and he cursed under his breath as he reached for the phone in the cup holder one more time.

 **Train's pulling in. Please tell me u're here.**

He strongly considered telling her he was stuck in traffic. Instead, he propped his hands up on the steering wheel, aiming the camera on his phone directly at the building ahead of him. He made sure to include the antique street lamp with the words 'Union Station' printed on the base of the light.

 **Take a breath.**

Shaking his head, Lucas grabbed his wallet from the center console and popped open his door, He made sure that the truck was locked before he skipped across the street, slipping in behind an older couple and holding the door for a woman and her toddler. They hadn't prearranged a meeting place – Maya hadn't been _that_ anal, thank God – so once he made it down the escalator he stepped up to one of the long wooden benches, eyes on the arrivals door.

He saw Farkle first, leather jackets over his Stanford hoodie, hair suitably mussed for having spent two and a half hours traveling with Maya. He had his leather duffle slung over one shoulder and his laptop bag over the other. Lucas couldn't help but be impressed at the fact that he didn't look like he'd had to deal with airport security, a five-hour flight from coast to coast, and then a train ride all in the same day. Beside him was Will, as clean pressed as ever in a button down over jeans. Poor guy's hat was on backward, but it was the only indication that he wasn't the future surgeon that his family expected him to be.

Which brought him to the short blonde bobbing between the two. Even from the other side of the room, he could tell that Maya was full of nervous energy. He knew she felt him before she actually saw him, flipping her aviators to the top of her head and fiddling with something inside the pocket of her blazer.

He didn't call out to her; he didn't have to. She paused when she recognized him, dropping her weekender at Will's feet and racing towards him as fast as his wedges would allow.

"Now I know something's wrong," he whispered into her hair after landing a kiss to her cheek. He had been aiming for her lips, but she turned at the last second, burying her face into his clavicle. She gave a quick shake of her head as she pulled away, and Lucas couldn't hide his laugh at the fact that Farkle had dutifully picked up the bag Maya dropped, holding it out for him to take.

"Later," Maya still wouldn't meet his eyes. "Riley's expecting me on the Old Campus Green in less than an hour, and we still need to get checked into the hotel."

Her bag slung easily over his shoulder, and Lucas hugged Farkle before sliding his arm around Maya's shoulder, nodding to the escalator. "Señor Travel Agent?" Farkle sped up a step, falling into line on the other side. "Where am I going?"

"We're at the Omni again," the genius pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his notes. "Maggie booked us three of the larger rooms. I figured we could divvy them up after we picked up the Birthday Girl." There was a brief period where Lucas had to remind himself that this was a Minkus funded trip and that almost all travel arrangements had gone through one of Stewart's personal assistants. "We've got reservations for L'orcio at six, and then curtain's up on _Cymbeline_ at eight."

Will stepped up to take Farkle's place as they crossed the street. "You're sure she doesn't suspect we're coming?"

Her eyes rolled even as she tried to change her stride to step out from under Lucas's arm. "This is me you're talking about Sir William." Maya flipped her hair over her shoulder; her aviators dropped neatly onto the bridge of her nose. "I could tell her that the apartment burnt down last night because I was attacked by an army of pygmy unicorns and she'd eat up every word."

As much as any of them hated to admit it, Maya wasn't wrong.

The bags were stowed under the tonneau of Lucas's F-150, and it went without saying that when they all headed to their doors, Maya automatically got shotgun. Lucas snuck a glance at her as he turned the engine over, reaching up to put directions to the Omni into his navigation system.

"You okay?"

Maya didn't say anything for a long second, her eyes flicking from the windshield to her hands and back again. "All good," she spat out.

"That's not gonna work for me much longer." He didn't acknowledge her nod, double checking that everyone had their seatbelts on so he could back out of his parking space. "You gonna want a shower, or just to change clothes?" Lucas caught Farkle's eye in the rear view.

"Minkus had a shower when he got off the plane at JFK," Maya informed the truck dutifully. There was absolutely no downtime between her buckling her seatbelt and reaching to the dash to sync her phone to the radio. Had she actually waited, he would have just handed her his phone to pick the music anyway. "And if he doesn't want me to leave his ass at the hotel, he's going to pull out one of those very nice button down shirts, run a hand through his hair, and call it good."

There was a slight motion in the mirror and the younger man eyed Maya sharply. 'She's been like this all day,' the genius mouthed carefully. Aloud he stated, "The lady has spoken." Lucas nodded. "I need to wash my face really quick, but I should be ready in ten minutes, tops."

Lucas took that to mean that he had roughly that span of time to figure out what was wrong with the blonde. He may not be able to fix it as quickly, but anything would be better than the hyper-aware woman sitting next to him. The arrow on his dash navigated him from Church Street to Temple, and he made it into the parking garage with Maya humming along to whatever it was coming out of his sound system.

He brought the vehicle to a stop at the ticker, rolling down his window to take one when Farkle shook his head. "Just use the valet," he decided, pulling the reservation up again and handing his phone to Lucas. "I don't feel like walking."

Talking to the attendant took less than a minute, with Lucas handing over the MyKey, and taking the stub that he was supposed to hand to the front desk. While he, Maya and Will were grabbing the bags, Farkle had gone ahead, circumventing the regular front desk in favor of the concierge and introducing himself as the son of Stewart Minkus. It wasn't his usual way of handling things, but Omni policy stated that you weren't allowed to check into a hotel room unless you were 21 and had a valid ID, and since they were all without one of those qualifications, the Minkus name had to come into play. They were given a handful of key envelopes – two keys to each room and spare envelopes – and he was ready to show them to the elevators when they finally made it into the building.

"We've got two kings and a double." He divvied the keys out as he spoke, deliberately handing Will the key to the room with the two double beds and Lucas and Maya each a key to the second room with a king sized bed. When Maya's eyebrow quirked, he smiled. "I know that room assignments are tentative until we pick up Riley, but I figured this would be the most efficient."

Maya grumbled, saying nothing.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, and Farkle pointed to the left when directing them to their rooms. Their rooms were a third of the way down the corridor, with no turns, and Lucas paused in front of Farkle's room door while Maya stepped up to theirs.

"You sure you've got this?" Farkle's darted to Maya's back before focusing on opening the door to his own room.

"Yeah," the lock popped on the door in front of Maya and Lucas nodded. "Take your time." He caught the door with his foot just as it as about to snick shut, toeing it open far enough for him to slip in.

It didn't surprise him that Maya was already on the other side of the room. She had her weekender propped up in the chair in the corner, and he smiled when she pulled one of her purses out of the bag and pulling the handbag organizer out of the bottom of the tote she had carried with her through the train station. For a girl who didn't travel much, she seemed to be extremely well organized.

Her head jerked when the door closed behind him, and he could tell the exact moment that it occurred to her that they were alone. Distress ghosted across her eyes as she returned to her task. "Farkle better hurry his little ass up." She took a deep breath, pulling her wallet out next, checking the contents, and dropping it into her purse.

"Okay. That's is." He dropped his own bag at the foot of the bed and ran a hand over his face. "Out with it."

Her eyebrows went wide. "Out with what?"

"You said 'later'." He reminded her as he took a step forward. "It's later."

Licking her lips, Maya shook her head. "It's not 'later'." They'd done this dance a thousand times, and Lucas couldn't help the chuckle when he took a step forward, and she answered with a footfall back. "And it's Riley's weekend." She reminded him diligently. "We don't have time for this."

"We're going to _make_ time." Lucas took another step forward, this time making sure that her next one back would land her between the chair and the desk.

There was nowhere left for her to go.

"And if I can tell something's up, don't you think that she'll be able to?" He nodded to the way she was worrying her lip between her teeth, fingers picking at nails.

"Riley will believe me when I say 'it's nothing'." Maya shot back defiantly.

Lucas leaned into her space, face inches from hers. "And that's why you've got me."

She seemed to think for a moment, weighing odds about something. Lucas had zero warning before she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling her body up against his and diving headlong into a kiss.

He would have accepted it. Hell, Lucas wanted to accept it; to just let Maya have this and not question her further. But there was something in the way she was clawing at his shoulders, the way her lips drank him in and her right hand ran through the hair at the nape of his neck, that tasted of desperation.

And that was a game that neither one of them played.

So he took as much of a breath as her lips would allow, and firmly pulled himself away from her.

He wasn't surprised in the least to see that she wasn't confused at his action.

She actually looked relieved.

Lucas dropped a quick kiss to the temple and pulled her to his chest. "What's going on with you?"

"Sometimes friends kiss." Lucas had to admit that that statement made absolutely no sense to him, but it had been said underneath Maya's breath, and the accompanying sigh reminded him that waiting for the explanation would most likely be worth it.

When she wasn't immediately forthcoming, he rocked back on his heels and dipped to look her in the eye. "They do."

His second clue was the fact that she refused to meet his eyes. It seemed trivial, Maya appeared evasive by nature, but it was something that Lucas wasn't used to experiencing. Instead, her gaze landed somewhere between his lips and the line of his button down.

When her finger caught her cuticle, she winced, and Lucas had to resist the urge to ask her whether or not she had made any new friends she kissed. It would be petty, possibly sounding far more jealous than he felt, and again, neither of those things were a part of what he and Maya had going. The first half of a thought cropped back up, the words seeming to form on her forehead.

New friends she kissed.

 _Josh._

There were days Lucas Friar despised how well he knew Maya Hart.

"Shortstack?" A quick tap on her nose brought her eyes up. "Clock's ticking sweetheart." Her mouth opened, and he shook his head. "And we're not tabling this until later. You don't get to get out of this that easily."

Both lips sucked into her mouth now, and eyes twitching from left to right in an attempt of searching for an escape.

Lucas braced his arm on the wall behind her head.

There was a knock on the door. A quick tap that Farkle had demonstrated many times in the group's history together. Relief flooded Maya's eyes, and Lucas just shook his head. "Grab the MyKey from valet" He called out, his eyes not leaving hers. "We'll meet you at the truck."

Another tap, and then Farkle –and presumably Will– was gone.

Blue eyes widened.

His smirk just got wider.

Lucas was well aware of the moment that Maya finally admitted defeat. Her shoulders sagged, chin dropped, and –dare he even think it- she appeared shorter.

"Josh." Her voice was small again, and Lucas just nodded. "I've been kissing Josh."

He had to stop himself from physically deflating. It had been a matter of time; Lucas was sure of it. What he wasn't sure of was why he felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. But he'd have to examine that later, most likely when he was caught thinking about why it was that Maya had spent a great deal of energy trying to hide it from him.

"How long?"

"Just the last week." She still hadn't moved, eyes planted firmly on his chin. "It's not going _anywhere."_

His entire body convulsed and Lucas pulled his arm away from the wall to keep from punching it. They'd had six dozen conversations since her and Josh's first kiss, more than half of that since the night of the 'non-date'. There had been ample opportunity for him not to get blindsided with this. "It's not going anywhere?" He said instead of what was running through his mind.

"It's not," she was too adamant, too sure. "He and I talked about it." Her voice picked up strength that she didn't seem to have anywhere else. "It's just kissing."

"And you and I are 'just sex.'" It was a cheap shot, and Lucas turned himself around so Maya wouldn't see the flicker of _something_ cross his face. He still had no idea where this was coming from.

Maya caught his arm and pulled him back a step. "That's not fair."

It wasn't. Lucas's eyes caught hers and they both knew that he wished that it hadn't come out of his mouth.

One deep breath, and then another. "You're right, I'm sorry." His hand was shaking when he ran it over his face. "Maybe I should have let you table this."

The giggle was manic, and Lucas felt Maya's hand ghost up his bicep to pull him the rest of the way around. She cupped his cheek in her palm and brought his forehead down to hers. "It's just kissing."

 _Until it's not._ His phone chirped in his pocket, and Lucas had to resist the urge to drop a kiss between her brows as they pulled apart. "We're coming back to this." He checked his pocket for his wallet and sent a quick text to Farkle that they were on their way down.

Maya's head bobbed as she readjusted the strap on her platform sandal and nodded.

* * *

Maya's original plan involved meeting Riley at the prearranged spot –just inside Phelps Gate- while the boys waited in the car. Lucas wasn't entirely sure who realized that leaving the three of them in the small enclosed area would result in someone murdering Will, but Maya was quick to agree to a change in plan when Farkle cut the poor kid off mid-babble about how excited he was to see his girlfriend.

For the third time.

Which was why he watched the blonde readjust her blazer from the cover of the Gate, Will tapping his foot against the wall beside them as Maya scrolled through her phone as she absently paced in front of the statue in the middle of the quad. The only sign that she was still thinking about their conversation in the room was the twitch of her pinky against the bottom of the phone case.

They saw Riley approach before Maya did, bundled up in her black crossover top and skinny jeans. Even though it was fairly warm for a December afternoon, Riley was still wearing her pale pink woolen duster, and Lucas could see the leather gloves she had worn earlier that morning peeking out from one pocket.

"Peaches!" Riley dropped her phone into her oversized bag and threw her arms wide, even though she was still a good ten feet away from her best friend.

Maya spun, her top handle tote swinging on her elbow, the hand holding her phone dropping limply. "Honey!" There were a few giggles, and more than one hug that seemed to go on forever before Maya pulled back and held her best friend at arms length, "Do you want your birthday present now, or later?"

"I thought you were the present!" Riley was bouncing again, both arms around her friend. "You didn't have to come up here _and_ bring me something!"

Over Riley's shoulder, Maya caught Lucas's eye. "Yeah, well this isn't exactly something I can return."

The brunette in her arms stiffened, and Maya's eyes widened as Riley pulled away a second time. " _How much did you spend_?" She snapped, arms coming up to cross against her chest.

"Nothing." The voice was emphatic. Her lips tried not to smile.

Will's tapping got louder.

"Nothing?" Why was everyone so intent on mimicking her today? "You spent 'nothing' on a gift that you can't return?" Maya nodded. "Is it a painting?!"

Another laugh and the smile on Maya's face only got wider. "It is most certainly _not_ a painting." She had a canvas for Riley, tucked safely in the girl's room at the Matthews house for Cory to bring up when they moved her back in after winter break, but shew as getting further and further away from her actual surprise. Allowing Riley to remain confused, Maya slung her arm around the taller girl, turning her in the direction of the gate. "And while you're guessing, we have dinner reservations."

"Reservations?" Riley allowed herself to be propelled forward, her voice tight. "Where?"

"L'orcio." It was a statement, and Lucas smiled when Riley's eyes widened. He knew what she was thinking, they had all had that thought when Maya had Skyped them together to plan for this event. L'orcio was a Zagat rated Italian restaurant, and its prices showed it. Maya had been saving her paychecks and tips for weeks in order to afford this trip before it was decided that the rest of them would be joining, and even then she demanded that she's paying for Riley's meal. "Are you okay going in that, or do you want to go back to the hotel and change?" Another once over of Riley's attire told Lucas nothing, she looked just as dressed up as Maya did.

"Hotel?" The taller girl sputtered, and Maya's arm seemed to be the only thing keeping her moving. "I thought you'd just stay with me." She blinked when Maya only shrugged. "Callie said she'd crash at Michael's if she needed to." Riley seemed less thrilled about her roommate staying with the boyfriend she'd only had for two weeks, but it was a sweet gesture. "You don't have to pay for a room."

"And _that's_ the beauty of this weekend." Maya spun in a circle as they hit the concrete path. They had maybe four or five more steps before they would reach the guys, hidden in the shadow of the archway. Riley arched a brow, and Maya began walking backward, arms wide.

Riley's brow furrowed, and if they weren't in public –her peers milling about in the rare warm December air- he could have sworn that she was about to ask Maya if she'd lost her mind. "Peaches…"

She didn't notice when Farkle stepped out behind her, Riley hadn't even been paying attention to the fact that she just passed Lucas and her boyfriend on the other side either. They fell into step and Maya spun again to loop her arm through her best friend's. "You only turn eighteen once Riles," Maya stopped when they stepped out from the archway. Will stepped up behind Riley and Maya leaned back into Lucas. "And we're not letting you do it alone."

There was a pause, as it seemed to catch up to the birthday girl exactly what was happening. Had it not been for his years of experience –and the fact that Maya had successfully steered them out of the covered walkway- Lucas probably would have suffered severe hearing loss at the squeal that followed when Riley realized that she was surrounded by friends and in the arms of her boyfriend.

" _PEACHES_!" Trying to encompass all of them in her arms, Riley launched herself at Maya. " _YAY_!"

If there was ever any doubt that missing a few classes and spending almost five hours in his car was worth it –conversation with Maya notwithstanding- seeing the look on both girl's faces would have sealed it. Riley bounced from person to person, sharing hugs and squeals before Farkle checked his phone, announcing that if they didn't leave soon they'd be late for dinner.

* * *

"O for a Muse of fire," Maya threw herself at Farkle, "that would ascend. The brightest heaven of invention!"

They had waited until they had placed their order to inform Riley that they were going to see the brunette's favorite Shakespeare play at the Shubert. The resulting squeal had caused Will to throw both hands over Riley's mouth –he may or may not have been licked for that- in order to stave off the looks they were receiving from the other patrons. Riley had immediately jumped into a soliloquy on how much she adored everyone before Maya announced that she loved _Cymbeline_ as well. No one had believed her.

If it were anyone else currently laying across his lap, Farkle would have dumped them on the floor. Instead, he braced a hand on the inside of Maya's arm to keep her from rolling. "You realize that you're quoting _Henry V_?" He bumped his chin to her forehead. "Which is not what we're watching tonight."

Maya straightened her back immediately, using her hips to leverage her off of the genius. "Oh," she shook her head, eyes cast to Will as if choosing a new victim. "Oh teach me how I should forget to think!"

The poor man never stood a chance as the blonde wrapped her arms around him, head falling to his shoulder. "That's _Romeo and Juliet_ ," Will said slowly, eyes searching from the top of Maya's head to Riley.

"Hell is empty." Maya deadpanned, placing herself correctly in her seat. "All the devils are here."

Farkle shook his head. "At this point you're just effing with us, aren't you?"

Lucas watched her upper lip cock as she took a sip of her virgin sangria. Her eyes darkened when she realized she was being watched, but Maya kept the smile on her lips all the same.

"Curtain's in thirty," the official timekeeper announced, pointing to his watch. When Maya started to look around for the waitress, it was Farkle's turn to grin. "Does anyone need to use the bathroom before we go?"

"We're not kindergartners." Maya's impatience was showing. The waitress hadn't been to the table since she removed a few of the plates after Farkle had been to the restroom himself.

Riley was already on her feet. "Guilty," she held a hand up, smiling when Will rose too. "You gonna walk me?"

Whatever it was that Will responded with was drowned out by the most annoyed groan that had come from Maya in recent history. "You already paid the bill, didn't you?" She was glaring at the genius now, arm waiving. "I told you that I was going to pick up my own check on this one!"

Just as many years before Lucas had silenced the man currently being fussed at, he stepped up behind where Maya stood and wrapped his arm around her head, forearm coming up squarely over her mouth. "I'm gonna take her to start the car." Lucas used the leverage he had on her neck to nod along with him before reaching out with one hand and grabbing her purse and blazer off of the back of her chair.

He got her two steps out of the building before Maya used the thick heel of her platform sandal on the meaty part of the top of his foot. Cursing carefully, Lucas actually laughed when she danced away from him, taking her jacket with her. "Was that really necessary?"

"Were you planning on yelling at Farkle some more?" They both knew the answer to that. "Think of it this way, you can apply the money somewhere else this weekend."

Maya seemed to consider it, shrugging on the blazer before holding her hand out for her purse, slipping a free arm into his as they made their way to the crosswalk. "Riley and I could get tattoos."

"Don't even joke about that." He dropped her arm and moved to wrap his around her shoulders. "The last thing any of us needs is Mr. Matthews 'Maya-Mayhem-Radar" going off and him showing up in the middle of the night screaming at us all."

Maya wished that she could say that Lucas was just joking. It was a shame that it had actually happened.

Twice.

She smiled anyway. "Yeah," a twitch, and she felt Lucas run his free hand down her spine. "We're totally getting tattoos."

It could have been the night, still uncharacteristically warm for the first weekend in December, or it could have been the way that Maya flipped her braid over her shoulder –smacking him in the face on purpose; either way when they got to the truck, Lucas opened the passenger door for her, spinning Maya around and using her hips for leverage to pick her up and set her in the seat. Her purse was dropped into the floorboard and her arms were around his shoulders automatically.

"I thought you wanted to talk about it." She whispered as he ducked into the cab to press his forehead to hers.

This was the part where Lucas was supposed to pull away. Maya had told him –no matter how reluctantly- that she was starting something with someone else. History and the rules dictated that this was the part where Lucas would take the high road, kiss her on the forehead and tell her to let him know when certain services were needed again.

His eyes caught hers, and he had no idea what Maya read in his expression.

But it had been too long, for both of them. And of the four people that Lucas trusted when the heat rushed through his veins, Maya was the only one who had been able to staunch it so thoroughly.

"Tell me when it becomes something more." His head dipped to close the distance between them, his knee resting against the edge of the door so he could pull the rest of his body into the v created by her legs.

He said _when_ not _if,_ a distinction that would most definitely cause an argument later.

But if Maya could be selfish sometimes, so could he.


	19. Part XII: Close

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,435

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

While Josh hadn't expected the text that arrived as he was packing up his laptop at the end of his work day at S.O.M., he smiled all the same.

 **If I dont get out of here, murder WILL occur**

He didn't have to ask where 'here' was. Maya's new roommate apparently didn't believe in studying for finals and had spent the last two weeks parading all matter of men through their dorm room as if it were an all male review. He'd gotten the full rundown Sunday night when she had gotten back from Riley's and found Renee and two members of the recently disgraced Alpha Epsilon Phi in the middle of their common room floor.

She'd spent Sunday night in Josh's bed –him gallantly taking the couch- when they realized that it was entirely too late for him to be sending her back to Shawn's.

 **Can murderous rage be culled by curry?**

There was a split second as he flashed his badge to the security guard on his way out of the building that Josh wondered if he'd assumed that she was asking for refuge in the roundabout way of hers.

Then he received the thumbs up emoji and smiled.

 **Call in Dhaban, I'll grab it on my way.**

It wasn't like he was ordering in just because she was coming over, he reasoned. After all, it wasn't the first time this month that he and Austin had slacked on the grocery shopping. As previously promised there was an overabundance of coffee –more because it was ordered online from one of their phones and delivered straight to their door- and the kitchen cabinets contained more than its fair share of candy and silver and blue cans. Actual food was an entirely other matter, and Josh was almost certain that there was nothing in the house that could be combined to create an actual meal.

And yes, he included the Sponge Bob Crabby Patty gummies that he was pretty sure Austin ate for dinner the night before.

Another set of emoji, this time a phone, some rice, and a steaming bowl of something, and Josh took that to mean that their order would be waiting when he got to the restaurant.

It wasn't until he had the bag of food in one hand and a drink tray with his dark roast and a large white mocha raspberry frappe in the other that he realized he might not be able to get away with pretending that this was an everyday occurrence.

He probably should have called to see when Austin was headed home.

It might have helped him.

He crossed the street at the crosswalk –in the back of his mind Maya called him a 'transplant' for obeying the traffic laws- and Josh's smirk got wider when he realized that the girl in question was sitting on the stoop of his building, phone in hand, not paying anyone a bit of attention.

"Wanna give me a hand?" Josh held out the drink carrier as he approached, not even bothering to roll his eyes when it took her a good few seconds to realize that he was actually speaking to her.

Maya rolled her shoulder as she reached for the offered cardboard. "There's, at least, fifty bucks worth of premium roast three floors above us." She gestured to the windows on the third floor for emphasis. "Why are you handing me Starbucks?"

Josh had to physically stop himself from pointing out that the coffee in the apartment had to be prepared. Thanks to the Starbucks app downloaded to his phone by an ex years ago, he could order, pay and have the drinks ready to go when he walked up.

It most likely wouldn't have helped his 'I'm becoming a real New Yorker' image.

"You're a pain in my ass under-caffeinated." He decided instead, pulling his keys out of the pocket of his leather jacket. "I thought it best to not have to wait for the pot to brew."

"That is extremely un-Matthews like behavior," she warned. Maya took the key from him, unlocking the gate and kicking it open so he could hold it while she opened the second door. When he'd first moved in Josh had gawked at the sheer amount of security that went into the building. Maya hadn't even blinked. "You realize that every time a Matthews is mean, God kills a kitten?"

"What do _you_ have to do for an angel to get its wings?" He followed her up the first flight of stairs with a smile.

She turned then, catching his eye over the top of the take-out bag. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

And just like that, Josh was reminded of the fact that they had started whatever it was that Maya was calling it almost two weeks ago, and he hadn't gotten more than a handful of careful kisses since.

He didn't analyze why that didn't bother him as much as it probably should have.

"Isn't that the general reason for an inquiry."

Josh didn't hear whatever it was that Maya muttered under her breath, shaking her head and hopping up the last three steps to his floor. He did notice the extra bounce in her step when she sashayed over to his apartment door, flipping keys on his chain like she lived there before popping the right one into the lock. He would have been more impressed if Riley hadn't gotten bored during their stay at his parents over Thanksgiving break and given the keys on his chain a 'manly' nail polish makeover.

She kicked the door open wide enough that he didn't have to worry about stumbling into anything and dropped the carrier onto the kitchen counter. "Did you inherit the entirety of the mordant genes in your family?" He didn't watch her shrug out of her batwing cardigan, but she tossed it in the direction of the living room area all the same before turning back to the counter.

Dropping the bag beside the drinks, Josh shook his head. "Is 'mordant' your word of the week?" When she stuck her tongue out at him, he reached over her head for the plates. "I think it was split between Morgan and me." He admitted, handing Maya both plates and pulling the first container out of the bag. "Eric doesn't need it, and Cory doesn't get it."

"He gets it," Maya defended, taking her goat curry from his outstretch hand. "He doesn't know what to do with it, but he gets it."

"Thanks in large part to you." Josh opened his masala and dumped a third of it onto the plate, digging to the bottom of the bag for the samosas that he knew would be there.

Maya snagged one the second he opened the plastic container. "All part of the service I provide." Bag still slung over her shoulder, fork in one hand and her frappe in the other, Maya bypassed the tiny dining table and headed for the couch.

"Speaking of services," her tote hit the table with a thud, and Josh had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at her. "You're not going to need me to break down equations tonight, are you?" She seemed to start breathing again, and he chuckled. "I've had eight hours of CAD today and my brain hurts."

"Your perfect streak is going down hard." She laughed back, pulling a stack of books out of the bag. There was a pause when she filled in the innuendo herself, and Maya shook her head. "And tonight is Comp Lit and language requirements." There was another joke in there somewhere, as she pulled her pencil case out. "Think you can quiz me on conjugations later?"

"Only if you've got note cards." Josh had taken the standard language requirement in high school and college. Spanish for the first and German for the second. Neither one would help him speak conversational Italian with Maya.

She shoveled a forkful of rice into her mouth and nodded, the picture of elegance and grace.

Josh snorted.

He caught a glimpse of the books decorating his coffee table as he brought his own satchel to the living room area, plate and coffee in hand. "How in the hell did you wind up with intermediate Italian, EXPOS-UA-1, _and_ Introduction to Literature all in the same semester?"

He had known from the day she'd officially selected her classes that she was taking six freshman courses to the average five, one being Torreano's Art History, but he'd never had the opportunity to just sit down and talk about classes with her. Or maybe the conversation had just never come up. She had three English/language based courses, a beginner's math and two art requirements. Quite the feat for a girl who had admittedly slept her way through the bulk of her secondary education.

"I'm just extremely lucky that way." The sarcasm was out in full force, and he tried not to notice her smile when she rolled her eyes. Another forkful of food. A quick sip of her drink. "Expository writing and ENG1015 are required for all freshmen," she reminded him. "And Riley wanted us to take a new language together."

It was all the explanation that Josh needed. "You do realize that the two of you are no longer at the same school?"

" _We're not_?" Her head popped up in surprise. She had dropped the straw from her frappe and it echoed slightly. The only giveaway that she was teasing him was the slight curve of her top lip. "And I was wondering why I stopped seeing her on the way to the cafeteria."

Josh flicked a samosa in her direction, chuckling when she immediately popped it into her mouth. "Cute." Her smile widened as she swallowed, scooping another fork of curry into her mouth.

She was, and she knew it. And that didn't bode well for the rest of the night. From the kitchen area, his phone buzzed on the counter, and he dropped his plate onto the coffee table to get up and retrieve it.

"Where's Austin?"

He almost declared her a mind reader right then and there. The phone dinged again before he was able to get to it, and Austin's name flashed across the top of the screen. "Apparently," he opened the text, holding it up for Maya to see. "Austin's at Book Club."

Maya snorted curried goat and shook her head. "Excuse me?"

Josh smiled. "He was short an English Literature credit this semester so he picked up ENGL728." The confusion on her face softened but didn't go away. "Science Fiction Lit," comprehension dawning, Maya took a sip of her frappe, blowing air out of her nose a few times as if trying to alleviate the burn. "They're meeting tonight to discuss possible themes for the final essay."

"Any pretty girls in ENGL728?" The look they shared brought them both to the same page and Maya laughed. "More than one, huh?"

"He's pretty confident," Josh agreed, bringing his phone back to the coffee table with him. "And hey, if he finds one that'll keep him from taking the job in Palo Alto-"

Maya chuckled again. "You're still not over the fact that your boyfriend is leaving you?" If she hadn't stolen the last samosa off of his plate while he was in the kitchen, he probably would have tossed it at her. And yes, he understood that it was rude to throw food. "It's called 'growing up', Josh. Everyone has to do it."

"You're kidding?" His voice was light when he dropped himself back onto his side of the couch. "And I kinda just wish that he could find something out here." Josh reached for his drink. "After rooming with him for four years, I've actually started to like the guy."

Her eyes clouded as she nodded, her mind obviously jumping to the fact that her small band of friends had been separated by the art of growing up. They made the best of it –even with Farkle being all the way in California- but she could still sympathize with not being thrilled at him facing the prospect.

"Look at it this way," Maya offered as she chewed on her rice. "Without Austin, after graduation you can upgrade to a _real_ apartment."

His laughter bubbled up even as he made a mental note that he was going to need to take the vacuum cleaner to the couch. Because while she might be right, the movie posters, half painted walls and sparse furniture did nothing more than scream 'college boys', it didn't make the fact that he was living in his own space less real. And he was sure he managed to get something to that effect out of his lips before they descended on hers, her rice spilling everywhere.

Amazingly enough, Maya didn't pitch a fit over the fact that half of her dinner had to be cleaned up off the floor. Nor did she bring up that while Josh was pulling the cordless Dyson out of the pantry, she was making sure that she didn't have rice stuck in her skinny jeans. She was shrugging her knit turtleneck back into place over her sheer lace tank as she came out of the apartment's single bathroom, smile still firmly planted on her lips. "Ora devo studiare in realtà," she announced, moving to the kitchen to kick her red leather booties off by the door.

Josh slid the handheld under the coffee table –in case it was needed later- and cocked an eyebrow. "Qué?"

Rolling her eyes, Maya flopped onto the couch, taking up the entire seat with her small form. "Ahora tengo que estudiar realmente?" She tried again, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

He mirrored her smile, moving his satchel over to the armchair with his foot. "Buena suerte con eso." Maya's mouth opened, and Josh shook his head. "Can we come back to our native language, please?"

"Scared I'll find out about that B- in Spanish you got your senior year?" He didn't bother looking at her, her cocky smirk had been in place from the second she emerged from the bathroom. "Cory pouted for a solid week when your mom called with your midterm grade." Josh wasn't sure whether or not to be embarrassed. "We didn't know if he'd survive."

"Makes you glad you kept your grades up in high school, doesn't it?" It was her turn to be surprised. Josh continued pulling his laptop and CAD sketchbook out of the bag. "I'm not the only one that Cory watched closely."

Maya seemed to consider that, flipping her notebook open and propping it up against her Little, Brown Essential Handbook. Josh remembered the great pride that his roommate had taken to setting that book on fire after that particular course. "We just spent five minutes kissing on your couch." The words were flippant, Maya not paying him an actually bit of attention. "Do you think we could agree not to bring up your brother for the rest of the night?"

"You started it," earned him a raised eyebrow, her baby blues not moving from the pages she was flipping through.

* * *

They'd received a text shortly before ten that Austin had gotten caught up in a discussion with one of his course mates, and they were grabbing a coffee off campus. The message told Josh not to wait up, which caused Maya to dive for her phone to scroll through the man in question's Instagram feed until she came across the photo of the back of whoever it was that Austin was 'continuing the discussion' with. She was pretty, at least from the quarter angle that Josh's roommate managed to get, and Maya couldn't resist sending him a text with a few tips on how to score a better picture without her knowing.

"You're enabling him being creepy," Josh topped off Maya's French roast and brought both of their mugs back into the living room area. "You realize that, right?"

Her head bobbed in time with her shrug. "Would you rather he learns it from me, or the trial and error that just might get his ass kicked?"

"By all means." Josh deadpanned as he set her mug down next to her open laptop. "Help him Obi-Wan Kenobi." Her hand caught his shoulder as he moved to pull himself upright, halting his progress. He didn't know where the next kiss came from, but it was slow and playful and so very random.

When Maya pulled away, flopping back onto hear rear on the couch, he turned and dropped down next to her, reaching out to pull the edge of the coffee table closer to him so he could retrieve one of the books he was reading as thesis research and the pen that he was marking his Post-Its with. The closeness wasn't necessary; he had been perfectly set up in the armchair. But there was something about the way that Maya kept glancing at him made him want to keep her within arms reach.

They sat in silence for another five or six minutes before he heard a pop and Maya cursed under her breath.

At some point in the night she had decided to try to get a few more proofs in math completed. She'd borrowed a pencil because her purse seemed to have swallowed hers, and when Josh peered over the spine of his book he watched her flop her head backward as she held up the broken tip.

"You wouldn't happen to have a sharpener, would you?"

He was dropping his closed book back onto the table even as he shook his head. "You're an artist, Maya." Her half smile wasn't something that he was well acquainted with. "Aren't you supposed to carry one of those around with you?"

"I have one sketchbook with me," she protested. He knew that she traveled light when she came over to study, more for the fact that if she brought any art supplies with her the odds of her actually focusing on her studies were slim. "And I've been trying to get away from pencil sketches." She'd also been deviating away from colored pencils, but Josh wasn't supposed to remember that she told him that last month.

He found two mechanical pencils –sans lead- in the kitchen drawer where he usually kept the sharpener, but not the tool itself. And he almost cursed before popping open the drawer that held the takeout menus to see an old plastic green one with Austin's initials on the side. "Found one." He held it up for her observation. "It's A's."

"Do I get to use it if I promise to be careful?" She was both confused and playful, not quite understanding why the owner of the sharpener mattered to her.

Josh tossed it in the air, catching it before hip checking the drawer and moving to the living room. "I don't know." His lip pulled when she bit her lip, and he didn't feel any particular need to suppress the urge to kiss her. "I think I may require some sort of collateral."

"Collateral?" Maya dropped her broken borrowed pencil in her textbook, crossing her arms over her chest. "For a pencil sharpener?"

Instead of returning to the front of the couch, Josh cocked his hip and leaned against the back of it, directly behind her. "It's not mine," he reasoned, smile firmly in place. "I need to make sure that it's returned to its owner in original condition."

A hand under her chin gave him the leverage that he needed to tilt her head back. She was smiling even before his lips touched hers.

The first one was sweet, predictable. There was nothing to differentiate it from the dozen or so kisses that they had shared since Halloween. Or, at least, until her arm snaked up his and around his neck, and she managed to turn herself around even as her tongue dipped between his lips. She paid no attention to the fact that her text and notebook had slid from her lap onto the floor, her other arm clawing its way up the fabric of his Henley to keep her steady on her knees.

He sunk his other hand in her hair then, anchoring himself to her messy bun. It was becoming more and more of a possibility that he would pull her over the back of the couch if they kept up like this.

A hand dipped to her waist –their position growing more awkward with the back of the couch between them- and Josh wasn't sure whether or not the gasp was his when the pads of his fingers found the silky skin of her lower back. He had less than a second to overthink his position, before one of her own hands slipped down the front of his chest, dipping underneath the cloth of his shirt.

Then they parted a second time, Maya's pupils blown and her smile wide. He didn't know where his own chuckle had come from, but Maya broke eye contact to giggle again.

"What?" Josh dipped in for another kiss, hands still firmly attached to her.

Wisps of hair fell into Maya's face as she shook her head. "It's not important," she murmured after another laugh. Another kiss, this one practically lifting her off of the couch closer to him, and shifted to brace both hands on his shoulders to allow herself room to breathe. "I just realized that Lucas was right about something."

"Yeah." The word was drawn out into at least three syllables, and Josh couldn't help his nose scrunching as he bent at the knees to keep his eyes on hers. "Do you think we could _not_ talk about Friar just now?"

Her eyebrow caught, and Maya's laugh filled the room. "Is there something you'd prefer to talk about?"

Josh could have kissed her again, anchored his hand to her hip and pulled her over the back of the couch, ceasing all conversation for the rest of the night on his own. He should have taken a step back, kissed her on the forehead, and opened the floor for the discussion that he knew she would run away from. Because 'sometimes friends kissed' but that didn't mean that they should fall into bed together without an idea of where they were going from there.

Instead, Josh took half a step back, and a deep breath. He held her gaze as he slowly released his grip on her hair. "Maya."

"Joshua." She purred, hands still embedded in his shirt.

He ran a long list of things he could have said through his mind before flexing his fingers against her skin. He settled for a simple, "is this okay?"

Maya stuttered, repeating the question. Her palms flattened against his shoulders as she blinked.

Pulling away from her was rapidly becoming the best thing for them. Not that Josh was entirely sure of how he would go about doing it. If this was what confusion looked like when mingled with her desire, he sure as hell didn't want to see rejection. "Is this okay?" He repeated again, sliding a hand up and back down her spine, caressing bare skin.

It took twenty-eight seconds for the smile to form across her lips. Yes, Josh counted. When she released his shirt he wondered if he should have committed everything before now to memory. Then her hand dropped to the hem of her sweater, brushing his arms out of the way so she could pull it up over her head.

"Maya?"

Sweater dropped tossed somewhere behind her, Maya reached for him again. "Joshua?"

A voice inside his head reminded him to breathe.

They still had the couch between them, which logistics told him would be a bitch if he didn't plan to actually let her go at some point. It didn't seem to bother Maya though, arms twinned around his neck. She placed a quick kiss to his Adam's apple before shifting her hand to put pressure on the base of his skull to pull his mouth back down to hers. Her tongue scraped against his lips, and Josh had to remind himself to breathe.

He couldn't have answered how long he stood there, her fingers caressing his scalp, his roaming every inch of bare skin he could find under her camisole. But when she rose up a little further on her knees, his hand dropped to her thigh, bending her backward slightly.

"Do you trust me?"

It was a loaded question, uttered through gritted teeth and too many lips. His other arm shifted, still not removing his lips from hers, and Maya didn't break away in order to nod. He could feel her forearms tensing against his chest as he flexed his hand one quick time before she nodded again, pulling away from the kiss and tucking her head into the hollow of his throat. Josh shifted his hands to her lower thigh, just inside her knee, and when he leaned back, he brought Maya's entire body with him. His knees pressed against the back of the couch, and he'd be damned if they didn't move it forward an inch or two. But he was able to set Maya's rear on the back of the couch in only a short minute, and the only other thing he had to show for it was teeth marks on his clavicle.

Maya's smile was too bright. "Now _that_ was impressive."

They both knew that he most likely couldn't do it a second time. Another slow kiss and Josh braced a hands on her thigh as he pulled away from the blonde. The other hand went up to the collar of his Henley, assessing the bite. "Was that really necessary?"

A twitch of her nose, and Maya's hands dropped to his belt. "Probably not." A flick of her wrist and she was reaching for his fly. "Are you interested in lodging a formal complaint?" She shifted up on her thighs, running her lips over the red skin.

"Your brain never turns off, does it?" Her camisole was shed next before Josh used both hands to pull her lips back to his. This kiss was just plain dirty, all teeth and tongues. He stepped out of his pants and back into her embrace before sliding his hands up and down her hips.

He didn't have to tell her that they needed to relocate. Josh just took another step back and kicked his jeans out of the way. She slid off of the back of the couch carefully, allowing him to take her hand and lead her down the short hallway that led to his room. Maya was sitting on his bed when he kicked the door shut, jeans still on, hair rolling over her shoulders.

"You are _gorgeous_."

Maya's smile was slow as if she wasn't sure if he meant to say it aloud. He's pretty sure that she wasn't aware that she mouthed the words 'thank you."

His shirt was next to come off, on his way to the bed, and when he shifted her further up the mattress while going in for another kiss, she shook the confusion out of her eyes.

"Come on, Matthews." Her breath in his ear was the only warning he had before she nipped at him again. "Let's see what you've got."


	20. Interlude: Calm the Storm

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,067

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

She'd be hard pressed to admit it, but Maya took a small kind of joy in waking up in someone's arms. Once upon a time, Farkle had tried to explain that that kind of contact induced the brain to release oxytocin, which both aided in mood and helped a person feel more connected. Whatever the reason, one of the best discoveries she had ever made was learning she was a fan of cuddling. She didn't even mind that the room was dark, and she couldn't remember where she had left her phone.

The was a groan from behind her, and Maya abandoned the thought of discovering what time it was in favor and pushing herself further under the covers, fingers intertwining with those that belonged to the arm she was currently pillowing her head on.

Yes, she loved this part.

But her mind apparently wasn't willing to let her float back to sleep, so she pulled her other hand out from under her, slowly skimming the corded muscle of the forearm closest to her. Nails dipped into the crook of an elbow, surprisingly more ticklish than her mottled thoughts could have sworn it should be. Maya smiled anyway, brushing her lips over the bicep. The hand twitched again, and Maya's brain stuttered quickly.

Lucas wasn't ticklish.

And she wasn't entirely sure why that was important at this moment.

The body behind her shifted again, bringing more warm skin flush against her back. It took Maya a quick breath and a curse not to flinch when the cool metal band of a forgotten watch landed solidly on her hip.

Wait.

Maya took a steadying breath through gritted teeth. Then another.

Lucas never wore metal watch bands. Especially not since Pappy Joe had given him his vintage Oyster as a graduation present.

The silence was screaming now.

Because if that wasn't Lucas's watch against her hip, then that meant that it wasn't Lucas behind her.

Another deep breath and it did very little to settle the anchor that had suddenly appeared on Maya's chest.

The shaking began in her fingers, and she clamped them closed for a beat so she could properly turn herself onto her side, and rotate her hips so Josh's arm could drop between them. His brow furrowed as if he could sense that she was pulling away both physically and emotionally, and Maya had to resist the urge to run her fingers over the curve of his jaw to smooth away the frown.

But touching him might result in waking him, and that would greatly hamper Maya's ability to safely remove herself –locate her clothes– and lose her shit in an undisclosed location far, far away from the room she was currently standing in.

The shaking had taken over her both of her hands by the time she made it into the living room, jeans in hand and undergarments firmly on her person. Austin's bedroom door was wide open, which would have given her pause if it weren't for the heavy snoring that permeated the room with every other breath. Instead of focusing on that, she concentrated on tugging her jeans on while scanning the living room for her sweater. Had she completely lost her damn mind? How does she not remember when it came off? There was a moment as she shifted her stance that her thigh tightened, and Maya bit back the curse that reminded her that it might have been possible that she had.

Her phone was still on the coffee table, and she snatched it up without thinking twice, thumbing it open and immediately pressing down on the number two. "Please wake up," she muttered to herself, finally spotting the crème of her wool turtleneck on the other side of the couch. "Please wake up."

There was a quick click and then it rolled to voicemail, and Maya realized that her torso was shivering. "Shit." She didn't stop to think about whether that had been recorded or not before hitting the 'end' button, yanking the fabric over her head. Her batwing cardigan was next, and Maya didn't even bother with order when she dumped the contents of her side of the coffee table into her tote, yanking on the longer strap to pull it over her head.

She'd left her shoes by the front door, and she kicked them into the building hallway just as quickly as she reached around the door handle to make sure that she at least tried to lock up after herself.

The buttons on her phone beeped as she once again tried her call. "When the hell did you become so hard to wake?" Another grunt and Maya shoved the offending technology in her back pocket, slipping into her rivet boots and scurrying down the hall.

The cab was halfway to TriBeCa before she remembered that Shawn was home – which was the original reason behind her choosing to study at Josh's to begin with. And the cabbie only muttered one or two words when she announced that she'd changed her mind and her destination was in the West Village.

She tried her phone one more time on her way up the stairs, finally leaving a message to 'call me now asshat!' before curling up on her bed at her mother's apartment, adrenaline crash forcing her to sleep.

* * *

When her phone alerted her to nine-thirty in the morning, Maya laid in her old bed for a good three minutes before realizing that the sound of the television on the other side of the wall signaled an entirely different kind of walk of shame. Of all the days that she forgot her mother was back in town, it had to be this one, didn't it?

She stripped off her jeans, reaching into the drawer to grab a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before yanking her sweater over her head and tossing it in the direction of where her hamper used to be. Walking into the living room would most likely be painful –and she didn't just mean mentally, Maya was fairly certain she had a bruise on her hip and was pissed as hell that she hadn't noticed it before standing up- she would do it her way. Then she realized that her jeans were now the only thing on the floor of the bedroom she was occupying. She glared at the spot for a minute, trying to remember why it had been so important that she and Riley had compacted her wardrobe while the younger girl was down for Thanksgiving break. It only took a second before her thoughts shifted to what that compacting had left her in the way of wardrobe choices for class.

If she had to face Shawn this morning as well she wasn't sure what she would do.

Yanking the sweatpants on, Maya surveyed her options. She was pretty sure that there was a dry clean only bag in the back of her closet somewhere. That was priority number one after the shower that she was in desperate need of. In that bag would go the jeans and the rest of the clothes that she was currently peeling off of her body. The _Earl and Emma's_ that Shawn used was on her way to class, and she could drop the bag off and next time Shawn collected his stuff –which hopefully would be soon, Maya loved those jeans- they would be shame and vanilla sandalwood free.

It was a good thing that she had remembered to close her bedroom door. If Katy questioned why she took a final sniff of her sweater, Maya wouldn't have an actual answer for her.

Hair thrown back in a messy bun, Maya grabbed the handle and wrenched open her bedroom door, smile planted firmly on her face.

Katy smiled at the sight of her daughter, and immediately reached for another coffee cup. "I didn't know you were spending the night here, baby girl."

"Yeah," Maya was three steps into the room before she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the framed photo of her and her mom in the entryway. She'd been bite free, of that she was sure, but there were one or two spots on her shoulder that just screamed stubble burn. She snatched the elastic out of her hair with a vengeance, managing to flick her hair over her shoulder just as Katy held out a coffee cup. "Last minute decision."

She took the coffee cup in both hands, blowing on it once before taking a tentative sip. Katy cocked an eyebrow in her direction and Maya ran one hand through her hair as casually as she could. "Everything okay?"

Maybe she should have gone to Shawn's.

"Still trying to get used to Renee," at least that part was true, "and I had a study session run late last night." Another sip of her coffee. "I honestly forgot you were back in town."

"Why do I get the feeling that says something about me as a mother?" The comment wasn't as strained as it would have been two years ago, but there was still a sadness to Katy's smile.

Maya wasted no time hopping to the kitchen island to set her mug down. "Because you're paranoid." She wrapped both arms around her mother, resting her head against Katy's shoulder. "What it _says_ is that studying for finals is kicking my ass and I can't remember the days of the week anymore."

It seemed to placate her mother, and Maya had another minute to bounce on her toes and deny the angry exhaustion permeating her thighs before Katy's eagle eyes were scanning her again.

"What?"

"So where is it?"

Eyes wide, Maya swallowed. "Where is what?"

Stretching her arms, Katy physically pushed Maya away from her. "Shawn told me you apparently came home from New Haven with another tattoo." There was a quirk to Katy's lips that gave away her lack of disproval.

Maya remembered to breathe.

"Oh," she rocked back on her heels. "That."

"Yes," Katy adopted the exact same tone, finally dropping her arms. " _That_. How bad is it?" While she was fully aware that the most recent one would make number three, Katy had yet to actually see them. It was a good thing that she wasn't as disapproving as some. Maya remembered with vivid detail the look that Cory had given when Riley had revealed that Maya was now among the ranks of the 'tattooed freaks' roaming the city.

Maya rolled her eyes. "What the hell did he tell you?" She coughed as she scooted her coffee mug to the side of the island, and then used sore arm muscles to hoist herself onto it. Before her mother could fuss –because they cooked meals on that- Maya had pulled up the pant leg on her right leg, displaying her foot.

The area around the ink was still a bit redder than was probably proper for a week old tattoo, but Maya attributed that to the fact that she put gel and gauze over it so she could put shoes on to survive winter in New York City. She aired it out every chance she got though, and the tattoo artist had told her that was the important part.

"She keeps me safe?" It was Riley's handwriting, of that there was no doubt. And Maya didn't have to tell her mother that its mate was written in hers. "Do I want to know what's on Riley's foot?"

Lucas had been exasperated when Riley had latched on to Maya's plan that they spend her portion of the birthday trip money on tattoos. Not disbelieving, if anyone could talk Riley Matthews into a tattoo it was Maya Hart, but disapproving. It hadn't been helped by the fact that Farkle had stepped up and decided to get one too. Maya had actually laughed her way through her own session, hand clasped in Riley's because they were doing it together.

"Probably best if I don't tell you," she winked, shoving the pant down and hopping off the counter. "Plausible deniability and all that."

"Cory is going to have someone's ass." It was Katy's way of telling her daughter that she approved of the stylistic choice, at least.

Maya mirrored her mother's smirk. "Only if he finds out."

Katy gave her daughter a light push, mindful of the coffee cup she was reaching for. "You're a horrible, horrible child." She announced, "And I have _no_ idea where you got it from."

Maya flipped her hair over her shoulder, dramatically rolling her eyes at her mother.

She got half a step back, fully prepared to head to the shower, when Katy caught her arm. "What's that?"

Internally, Maya cursed. "What's what?" She asked with a smile, trying to turn herself around.

"On your shoulder," Katy's other hand came up quickly, stopping the spinning and angling her so her shoulder caught the light. "Is that a rash?"

That was it. Maya officially hated herself.

"Not in the medical sense."

Katy's eyes caught hers, understanding passing between them. This wasn't something either of them was new to. "Where were you last night?"

"Josh and Austin's," the truth was bitter, but it slid off her tongue easier than any attempt to be vague.

Her mother didn't need to hear anything more. "Just promise me you were careful."

 _Careful with what?_ She wanted to ask. _Physically_? _Emotionally_? Because if Katy was hoping that Maya had thought her actions through before she performed them, she'd be _sorely_ disappointed. "Pretty sure it's in his DNA, Mom." She nodded along to her words, thankful that Katy would take what she wanted from the statement. "I'm gonna shower, were you wanting to do lunch or something while you're in town?"

"Maya?" The blonde was halfway back to the hallway now, fully intending to scrub the night before from her skin. When she turned, she instinctively pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. "Are you okay?"

She laughed. What else was she supposed to do?

Maya certainly couldn't tell her mother that she was standing on the edge of a panic attack, or that the only thing that had held her back was the thought that maybe she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life. She also was pretty sure that Katy wouldn't be excited to find out that Maya was in desperate need of a conversation with Lucas –who Katy knew for a fact had the same experience Maya did with this sort of thing- before she made any other life altering decisions.

The thought of curling up in a ball in the shower was sounding better and better.

"Baby?"

The smile was forced; her eyes were dark. "Yeah Mom," Maya turned away before Katy could inquire further. "I'm fine."

She didn't go back into the bedroom to collect her phone, it would only serve to remind her that Lucas had most likely not taken her [five] voicemails seriously and called her back before his first class of the day. The bathroom door clicked shut behind her. The tap was turned up as high as it would go, and Maya finally allowed herself to fully shut down.

* * *

 **Are you okay?**

If she weren't pretending to pay attention to the lecture going on four rows ahead of her, Maya would have thrown her phone across the room. As it stood, she was actually incredibly relieved that she had managed to get a seat next to an outlet, making it easier to record what Professor T was saying about Revolutionaries in the Impressionist Period.

Apparently she hadn't responded fast enough because her phone buzzed again a minute later.

 **5 calls in less than an hour**

 **& U didnt think to answer NY of them**

She had no reason to be pissed off at Lucas. Not logically. Was that going to stop her? Most likely not. Maya had needed a voice of reason that morning, and he was supposed to have been it.

 **What happened?**

She had five minutes left in this lecture. If it were anyone but Friar on the other end of the phone, she would have made them wait.

 **Guess.**

Okay, so she wasn't about to make it easy for him.

She tucked the phone back into the pocket of her fleece hoodie.

An hour and a half later found her scurrying across Gould Plaza, head down, on a desperate quest for enough caffeine to sustain her through the rest of her Friday afternoon classes. Lucas had texted her back four times –she hadn't checked them- and the only thing that she actually cared about in that moment was that it was officially after one-thirty, and that meant that Josh should be safely tucked into the cubicle farm on Wall Street. Which limited her possible exposure to him to zero until after six.

And she planned to be as far away from any place that he may be inclined to visit after that time, thank you very much.

Another buzz and she thumbed her phone open.

"Yo! Maya!"

The blonde froze, head snapping up to frantically scan the people milling about for the owner of the voice.

"Hey, Hart!" Austin seemed to come out of nowhere, book bag on his back and a smile on his face.

She'd forgotten that the bulk of his Friday classes were in Tisch Hall. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah," he ran a hand over his shaved head and licked his lips. "Sorry, I missed you last night."

"Chasing undergrads is probably more interesting than watching me study Italian." She took a step to the left, glancing down at her phone. Was there a polite way to extradite herself from this conversation? "Though next time I expect better pictures."

Austin chuckled. "You'll have to teach me properly," he agreed.

"Covert images of hot girls," Maya shook her head, forcing a smile. "I'll see what I can do." She hadn't been able to get to her texts yet, and her phone buzzed in her hand. "I can't say I'm the expert, though, you may need to talk to Ali."

 **We need to talk.** She didn't look at the messages above it. Chances were they only led up to the severe tone of the text Maya had just received. **Now**.

Her eyes caught Austin's when she glanced up from her phone, and she held her smile through wide eyes, holding the object up –screen facing her- for Austin to see. "Sorry," she stuttered. "Best friend emergency."

"We're having another cram session at the house tonight." Why wouldn't he catch the hint? Maya was already backing up. "You down for joining?"

Cursing her inability to draw on her own poker face, Maya's entire body shook at the prospect of walking back into the place she had fled from not twelve hours earlier. "I don't think so." Was she still shaking? "Maybe I'll catch the next one."

"Maya!" She was turning now, and if she cinched her tote closer to her body to allow her to power walk across the rest of the quad and duck behind the corner of the building, well hopefully Austin didn't notice.

Her phone rang exactly eight seconds later.

"It's something more isn't it?"

Maya hadn't said 'hello'.

She _really_ didn't want to answer either.

"Shortstack?"

What was she supposed to tell him? It hadn't been her intention for anything to happen the night before. She'd just _really_ wanted to avoid Renee, and she didn't want to feel like she was intruding on Shawn's time at home by taking over his kitchen table so she could study. And she had absolutely no idea how she'd wound up in Josh's bed. Apparently her brain had segued from the sweet kiss she deepened to the bedroom. Maya had been aware of what was happening, she could probably replay every single second of it if she allowed herself to –or just closed her eyes- but she had absolutely no idea when her body had jumped from 'he tastes like mocha' to 'let's do this'.

None.

"Maya?"

Her feet came out from under her, and Maya dropped her tote to the concrete beside her. "I'm sorry."

If she had any idea what the tone of those two words did to the man on the other end of the line, she'd probably never forgive herself.

"I'm so sorry." The shaking in her shoulders hadn't ceased, but at least she hadn't started crying yet.

There was a breath on the other side of the phone, and she wished that he had FaceTimed. Normally Maya was really good at reading the silence, but absolutely everything was out of whack right now and she needed the reassurance the visual allowed. Not that she was about to actually ask him to get off the phone.

And then, "Yes or No: It's something more?"

A deep breath. Because this was a one-word answer. Maya could handle one-word answers. "Yes."

It was Lucas's turn to take a deep breath. "Yes or No: It happened last night?"

"Yes."

There was a sigh. Maya wanted to reach out to him them, to tell Lucas that she was just as confused about it as he was and that if she could have stopped it from happening, she would have saved them from this. Then he seemed to nod. "Yes or no: You ran away from it?"

"Yes."

"Do you regret it?"

"Yes."

" _Maya_."

"It shouldn't have happened," they all knew this song and dance by now. Of all the people on the face of the planet that Maya could be trying to start _something_ with, the last one should be Joshua Matthews. "Josh-"

"God _damn_ it Maya!" Lucas cut her off with a grunt and a shout that all but informed her that he wasn't in class. " _Stop_!" The phone shifted, connection crackled, and Maya took that time to realize that she was curled up in a ball on the side of the Courant Institute Building. She wondered if anyone had noticed her yet. Lucas clucked in her ear and she didn't even think about asking if she'd missed anything. "Don't think about Riley, or me, or – _fuck_ \- even Josh." Her head shook again, and he sighed as if he could see it. "Think about last night, and the feeling in your gut before your brain kicked in. Do you regret it?"

The shaking didn't stop, and it amazed Maya that the feel of the back of her head against the brick grounded her.

Finally, "No."

Maya wished she had the energy to pull the phone away from her ear so she wouldn't ever know if she'd completely ruined the second best thing she'd ever had in her life.

"You're scared." His voice was stronger now. Maya knew without being told that if she asked him to come to her he would.

And even though she knew it wasn't a question, Maya nodded. "Yes."

"You're having the same doubts as you did with us?"

" _No_." Obvious aside, Josh and Lucas were two completely different people in Maya's mind. And the situations were two completely different situations. She took a breath then, because if she let herself think about it, it really wasn't. The only difference was when it all fell apart –and it would, because let's be real here- she had so much more to lose with one than the other. But none of that was going to happen. "He's not you, Luke."

It was downright scary how one word could completely change the tone of the conversation. Their specific group of friends had been together for almost six years now, and both Maya and Lucas could count on their hands the number of times he'd actually been referred to as 'Luke'. It had only been Maya. And it had only been when it was just the two of them. "It's a good thing too," he responded back before he could stop himself. "I might just have to get jealous."

Her laugh was faint, but it was there.

"Do you have any classes left today?"

Maya's head scraped against the brick again before she remembered he couldn't see her. "No."

Lucas still had two. His schedule was full today; something Maya should have thought about when she first started dodging texts. Just how selfish did she wind up being? "Do I need to make a trip out?"

And God help her, Maya wished that she was able to give Lucas what he needed from her. All it would take was one three letter word and he'd skip out on two classes –right before his own finals she might add- and come to her. But of all the things that she'd asked of him, this wasn't going to be it. "No." Her tone was firm, and she was almost to the point where she could pull herself off the concrete. "I'm good."

"You sure?"

At that she did actually hoist her butt off of the ground, leaning against the side of the building for a moment. "No," at least she was honest. "But I can breathe."

She could tell he was nodding. "If you need me, call me." Lucas ordered, not even bothering to be gentle this time. When she said nothing, his voice hardened. "I mean it, Maya."

"I will." She was also planning on texting him a somewhat reassuring selfie the second they hung up.

Which would be any minute now.

"Do something else for me." Maya paused midway down to get her bag. The tone was back. The one that said he knew more than she wanted him to and he didn't care. The one that reminded her that they could be fifty years down the road, with their own families and their own lives and they would still never be truly over. When she swallowed, he went on. "Don't hide from this." Straightening, Maya slammed her head against the building behind her. "Go back to Shawn's, grab a blank canvas and your paints, put on Spotify and go through it all in your head." It was probably what she was planning on doing anyway. " _All_ of it." He reiterated harshly, and she could tell he was moving to head to his next class. "Then call Josh."

She's pretty sure it wasn't her voice that practically shouted 'no!' And the shaking most certainly wasn't going to start again. Maya understood that denial truly did go a long way.

"Lay it out for him, Maya." The boy wasn't listening to her. And he knew that she noticed that. "He needs to know what you're thinking. _That's_ how you get ahead of this." Lucas didn't give her time to make excuses. "I'll text you after Anatomy." And then he was gone.

Maya tried to figure out if this was what Square One looked like as she rooted around her bag for her headphones and started her trek to Shawn's.

* * *

There was an overabundance of relief when Maya popped the lock and discovered that Shawn had been called to shoot some kind of Christmas thing in Montauk. It hadn't been expected –she didn't need the note to tell her that- when Shawn had returned from him last assignment he'd announced that he was taking the entirety of the holiday season off. But apparently no one told that to one of the junior photographer's toddler who decided to bring strep home from daycare this week. That had been in the note. And Maya had giggled through the rest of Shawn's ramble about how he hadn't gone shopping yet, and if she wound up there that she should just order in.

Maya certainly wasn't going to complain about that.

She docked her phone, putting her music on random and pulled an already primed canvas out of the hall closet. As DNCE blasted through Shawn's surround sound she changed out of the holy jeans and hoodie that she had worn to class and into a pair of leggings and an old thigh length lace trimmed camisole.

Maya considered pulling her wooden palette out of her art bag, but opted for her covered tray palette to save on time. She'd already mixed some paint in the last few days, and setting up a new palette seemed like a waste.

DNCE made way for classic Halsey and Maya grabbed a brush at random, closed her eyes as she picked a color, and stepped up to the easel.

Years before -back when the lines of friendship were perfectly drawn, and there was nothing that couldn't be solved by a Bay Window- Maya had discovered that the thin sliver of control she held onto in her life could be dropped while painting. She didn't have to think about color choices or mixing or what the finished product would look like. She could –figuratively- close her eyes and just be. As she grew, both as an artist and a person, she learned that that state allowed her mind to focus on the parts of her life where her grip never wavered.

Which is why it didn't surprise her that Lucas had suggested it. Or that, as she chose a shade of blue that reminded her a little too much of Josh's eyes, she could replay the night before in her mind's eye without missing a beat.

She had told herself that she had no idea how it happened. It was entirely likely that she had told Lucas as well. And while she'd like to think that she hadn't lied to either of them, it wasn't the truth. The decision to deepen the kiss he was giving her over the back of the couch had been instinct. In that moment Maya had felt the exact same thing she did when she was with Lucas; safe, desired, and calm. It had fluttered through her insides and she'd reached out and grabbed it with both hands.

Then he'd brushed her hair out of her eyes, braced himself against the back of the couch, and asked, 'is this okay?'

She might not have known it then, but that was the moment that Maya Hart had decided to sleep with Joshua Matthews.

Because she might not have been a stranger to sex -and Lucas was still rooted in the top three of the list of truly good guys in the world- but Maya had never had someone make sure that what they were doing was what she wanted to do. Her head shook, and she reached for the tube of lilac that was resting on the easel tray. Her brain had hiccupped for a moment and she bit back the thought that being with Lucas had been anything other than her decision. But she remembered their first time, making out at a party and then her breathless 'you sure you're up for this, Cowboy?' before she led him out the door and back to her bed. Lucas had always given her whatever she wanted to take, and he'd seemed to assume that her asking was her permission.

Which was totally okay with her. Maya wasn't interested in someone who was worried she'd break.

But Josh hadn't just asked. He'd stood there and waited for her to understand his question. Then he'd waited for her answer.

And it didn't take a genius to know that if she'd pulled back, if Maya had even hinted that what was about to happen wasn't all right with her, then it wouldn't have happened.

Yes, Maya knew she didn't deserve the good guys that she had in her life.

She also couldn't help but replay the look on Josh's face when she pulled her sweater over her head, or the thrill that ran down her spine when he'd asked her if she trusted him before lifting her up over the back of the couch.

Her mouth watered thinking about that one too.

In the time it took for Ed Sheeran to sing about the chemicals in his bloodstream, Maya's entire body relived every moment that occurred after Josh had kicked the door to his bedroom shut. He'd been gentle, which probably shouldn't have struck her as odd. And after she pushed him to his back, he'd relinquished control for just as long as it had taken for both of them to be divested of their clothes.

Another step back, and Maya had to set her palette down on the stool she always kept near her when painting.

She'd been so used to the wild abandon of previous encounters. With Lucas their mood dictated the pace, and she had been perfectly fine with that. But Josh was cool precision, he catalogued every noise, every breath, and then replayed the motions that had caused them so he could make sure the reactions were the same. It was unexpected. It was delicious.

It was so _very_ Josh.

And that was part of the problem, wasn't it?

Because Maya Hart wouldn't be in the predicament she was in if it had _just_ been fun. She and Josh could have laughed about it later and then gone their merry ways if it had _just_ been fun. _Fun_ wouldn't have her spending the night in his bed with him. It would have had her dressed and on her way back to the dorms before Austin had even gotten home. She sure as hell wouldn't be wondering why she had woken up in his arms thinking he was someone else.

Another shudder skirted through her veins and she caught herself before she could drop the brush in her hand.

Lucas had told her to go through it all in her head and apparently she was going to be taking that literally.

 _All of it._

 _You're having the same doubts as you did with us?_

She laughed.

When Maya had first hooked up with Lucas she'd been terrified of the change that would come with it. Neither one of them were equipped to handle a long-term relationship, much less the long-distance that would have come when they'd separated for college –which was downright inevitable considering their academic paths. There was also the very real possibility that when the relationship tanked –and it would, because Maya firmly believed that she couldn't hold onto anything good- she would be out one true friend and the rest of their little group would have to come up with an entirely new dynamic.

So she and Lucas had come up with their own.

Amazingly enough, it worked.

And now there's Josh.

Josh was just as good of a guy as Lucas. He was in New York City. He'd made every plan to stay. S.O.M. would have to be stupid not to realize the Matthews potential running through his veins, and the kid from Philly would become a true New Yorker in no time.

Which meant that Maya couldn't use distance as an excuse to keep hers.

And there was far more at stake this time around than there had been with Lucas.

Maya wished it weren't so.

When things went south with Josh it wouldn't just be her getting hurt. At Riley's insistence, and Maya would have to admit that she didn't fight the brunette too hard on this one, Maya had become so deeply rooted in the Matthews family that there was no way that she could consider a clean break. And if she broke, then she would be breaking Riley, and Auggie, and the Matthews dynamic. Of all the things that Maya would allow herself to be responsible for, it would _never_ be that.

Which meant that the solution to her problem was so incredibly clear.

There was a quick tap on the door, had it not occurred immediately after Melanie Martinez faded to silence, she might not have heard it, and Maya dropped the brush she was using to scratch her temple into the coffee cup on the tray and bounced over to the door.

It never once occurred to her that she wasn't expecting someone.

The door popped open under her hand and she caught it with her foot, mind blanking when she saw who was on the other side.

Because it also never crossed her mind that unlike Lucas, with his infinite patience and a sixth sense about the inner workings of Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews preferred a more direct route.

Which was why he was standing in the hallway looking at her that very second.


	21. Interlude: Temporary Fix

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,046  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

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Quick Author's Note: I just wanted to take a minute thank my ever patient beta reader ElleRose77. You deal with all of my crazy and the story snippets that don't make sense, and I'm working on getting you canonized for it. The next chapter will be in you inbox sooner than you think.

* * *

When his alarm blared through the room at quarter to seven, Josh knew she was already gone.

That didn't mean he didn't spend an extra minute and a half lying there wondering how his day might have been different if she'd still been curled to his side. It also didn't mean that after those ninety seconds he didn't roll over, silence the blaring and proceed to dress for his first class, surveying the damage to his room in the process.

He'd have to get that cleaned up before Austin came back to the land of the living.

He gauged the living room as he wandered to the coffee pot, thankful that other than their plates still being on the coffee table, there wasn't much that could give away that Maya was even there the night before. He dumped the trash while his coffee brewed, repacked his bag, and then poured himself a large travel mug –black because this morning needed the bitterness of dark roast- and headed out the door.

Josh only checked his phone once on the way to the station. He noted that he had nothing from Maya, and then answered a few emails before compartmentalizing his day so he could get through his first class.

* * *

"Hey man," Josh looked up from his laptop slowly, making sure that he, at least, finished his sentence. His roommate was still in the hall, arms crossed against his chest. "Maya was here last night, right?"

There were three ways that Josh could have answered Austin's question. The first would have been to tell the complete truth. He could have sat down with his roommate and told him how he thought that he might have just utterly ruined any friendship that he and Maya managed to create because he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Option number two was to strictly answer the question that was asked; Yes, Maya was there the night before. No, she wasn't still there. No discussion, no added story. Just the facts. The third, of course, was to lie.

Josh threw a glance around his room. He'd done a complete overhaul once he'd returned from his first class of the day, knowing he wouldn't want to deal with it when he got home from work that night. His sheets had been changed, the rest of the space completely spotless. He might have even gone so far as to Febreeze the mattress before putting the new sheets on. And Josh's ceiling fan was going in the middle of December to help rid the space of that damned cinnamon scent that he'd come to associate with the woman who'd spent half the night in his bed.

Yeah, he wasn't going to get away with lying.

Nodding carefully, Josh smiled. "She came over to study because she's still having roommate problems." He glanced back down at the paper he'd been working on for his Architecture in Context lecture credit. Austin should have already been aware of that much information, especially with the texts they had shared the night before.

The taller man leaned against the doorjamb. "When'd she leave?"

The beauty of that question was the he didn't actually have an answer. It was most likely after one-twenty or so because that was the last time he remembered seeing over the blonde's shoulder as he pulled the comforter over them both, exhaustion mocking his inability to actually get up to brush his teeth or wash his face. "Can't remember," he decided to say instead. Josh waited for a beat, Austin nodding carefully. "Why?"

"Just trying to figure out whether or not I need to message her that she left something here." Austin bit his lip, making sure to keep one hand hidden behind his bicep. Josh noticed the twitch but said nothing.

"It would help if I knew what she left." Josh shifted, setting his laptop to the side and turning to make it easier to slide off of his bed. "She's gonna freak if it's her sketchpad."

The grin that spread across Austin's lips seemed to encompass his entire face. "Something tells me that's the last thing on her mind today." When Josh's eyebrows rose, his roommate's entire face lit up. "You're really gonna play silent here?" Josh bit his lip, shaking his head. He'd been through the living area twice that day, and other than a broken pencil and one of her Staedtlers, there was nothing that would have given them away.

Unless Austin had come back to the apartment some time before Maya had woken up and made a run for it. Josh shook his head again. No, if Austin had been conscious enough of the apartment when he'd come home from his 'coffee' date he would have made his discovery known. While he wouldn't come barging in on them, Josh would have at least had a text about the state of the living room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, man."

Saying nothing else, Austin's hand finally made an appearance, an oyster pink lace and silk camisole dangling from one finger.

Shit.

"You want to try that one again?" He really didn't; his face must have shown that. Austin's grin didn't diminish, but he nodded, tossing Maya's camisole towards the bed. "Do you know what you're doing there?"

It took a minute for the question to catch up to him, his attention caught on the piece of fabric in his hand. "Ya know," a breath, and he shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure I do."

His roommate's head bobbed one more time before he turned to leave. "You know where to find me if you need me. You're gonna be late for your lecture." Austin took half a dozen steps across the room before he called back over his shoulder, "And put the couch back!"

* * *

Josh was pretty sure this is the most bored he'd ever been at work with a full load on his plate. In the three hours that he'd been in the office, he'd already sat through one team meeting, started on the data sheets that would be needed for the next team meeting about the proposed location of the next New York City zero energy school, and trying his damnedest not to get in the middle of the latest argument between his brother, mother, and sister-in-law about whether Christmas should be held in Philadelphia or there in the city.

Topanga was winning, in case there was any doubt whatsoever.

Josh had taken a short break to email one of the TAs from a lecture to make sure he'd gotten statistics correct so exam prep wouldn't be in vain, while he wandered down to the vending machines at the end of the office to pretend there was something that could combat his exhaustion the way the five-hour energy that he'd declined or the coffee he refused to drink would. On the way back his mother had actually called him.

He wasn't sure what had possessed him to answer the phone and initiate the inane conversation with his mother over whether or not his brother and sister-in-law were bogarting Christmas; they weren't, and he probably lost points with Amy for pointing out that it was Riley's first Christmas after starting college, and if Topanga didn't want to add to the teen's travels and just host it in the city, it was all right with him. After all, she had three kids, two grandkids, and Shawn already in one general location. Since Morgan and her husband were going to London to Christmas with his family, it was definitely easier for Amy and Allen to travel for the week than it was to get eight people to Philly for three days.

And no, it didn't escape his notice that he unconsciously included Maya in his calculations.

There was a perverse satisfaction to be had when Josh realized that whether or not Maya decided to ever talk to him of her own volition again, there was no way she could possibly avoid him.

He'd just finished his last spreadsheet of the day –or rather the last spreadsheet he would be able to complete without the structural analysis that was supposed to be compiled by one of his fellow interns– when his phone buzzed in his hand. Josh had to resist the urge to drop it for many reasons. The first was because he'd grabbed it in order to call three floors below him to ask Riker where his numbers were. The second was the fact that if his mother didn't give up on Christmas in Philly this year, _he_ was going to just flat out tell her that he wasn't showing, and she knew where to ship his presents. And then there was the name that finally flashed across his screen was the last person that Josh had ever thought he'd hear from that particular morning.

Curiosity got the best of him, and Josh flicked the lock screen and thumbed open his messages.

 **Don't let her run.**

Just like with the girl that had fled his bed in the early hours of the day, there was a three-year difference between Josh Matthews and Lucas Friar. Unlike Maya though, he'd known Friar for a little under six years now. And it was really starting to unnerve him how the Texan seemed to know exactly what to say at which time.

 **It's a little late for that one.**

If Lucas could be sagely cryptic, so could he. Josh dropped his phone to his desk and reached for the multiline next to his computer screen. It would probably be better if his call to Riker could be documented on the company line anyway. He'd tapped in William's office code and sat back when his phone buzzed again.

He told himself not to look. To finish his call and get his work done so he could go home and drink and pretend to study with the rest of he and Austin's sordid group of friends. Tonight was pizza night, and there was already Sixpoint in the fridge waiting for him to wash the last week from his mind.

It was officially a proven fact that Josh had no will power.

"Hey Will, it's Josh from Power's office." He'd already had his messages open by the time he flipped his phone screen back to him. "I need the updated structure numbers before you leave so I can finish my presentation notes for Monday." There was a definite effort made in order to keep professional while avoiding actually reading Lucas's text. "Email me when you get the chance."

 **You & I both know that's not true.**

"Thank you, Yoda." Josh's eyes bugged and he glanced down at where his hand held the plunger down. He didn't actually remember ending the call. Then he dropped the receiver down into its cradle with a little more force than necessary.

Because, heaven help him, Lucas was right. Josh had known the second he laid Maya back on his comforter that she wouldn't be in bed with him come morning. Not only because he knew the kind of person Maya was, but he knew that the moment that she realized what she'd done and who she'd done it with, her brain would kick into overdrive, and fight or flight would motivate her faster than anything else would.

It didn't mean that what they shared didn't mean anything. It didn't mean that either one of them had done anything wrong.

Maya had proven time and time again over the years that she just didn't know how to process certain things. And no, he wasn't just referring to steamy kisses in kitchens and nights in his bed. It was in the way that Maya had turned a drunken night with Lucas into an almost two year long friends with benefits situation. It was in the way that she'd completely blanked on Homecoming even though she knew that there were people that were willing to help her out, and then she stormed out of Riley's living room in confused rage over the fact that Topanga stepped in to help. It was her ignoring him for almost three months because he refused to admit that he actually liked the sweet half kiss she'd given him for New Years, and shutting down on Friar when everyone had been accepted to college but her, and she realized that the carefully curated world she'd built was changing.

As much as she denied it, Maya held on to her perceived normalcy with both hands. Emotions were messy, complicated, and she would need time to regroup and stick everything back in their little box in order to make sure that her world remained the same and no one got hurt over it.

And Josh didn't need Lucas reminding him of the fact that he already knew this.

 **Don't let her run.**

He considered texting her. Josh had made it through five different faux-nonchalant sentences, and nothing seemed casual enough for him, so they never got sent. He'd also thought about calling her. Not that she would actually pick up the phone. Then what was he supposed to do? If he could come up with the proper words, his tone would definitely give him away.

Last night hadn't been a mistake to Josh, and it sure as hell hadn't been casual.

He chuckled down at his phone. If Maya was there, that was probably the one sentence that she would agree with. Because as far as Maya Hart was aware, it was physically impossible for a Matthews to have a casual sexual relationship with anyone. After all, they were the family that was built for true, epic love. His brother and sister-in-law's love and marriage were the basis for which all other True Loves were compiled –which he had to admit were a standard all on its own- and there wasn't anyone who had heard their story who didn't want a Cory or Topanga of their own.

Or, at least, that's the myth that Cory and Topanga had been unable to stop their family from perpetuating.

And while Josh had grown up in the world where you married your high school sweetheart, and love meant sacrificing your dream for someone else's, he was also Eric Matthews' younger brother. So he understood fully that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, or how much you change, you don't get the girl. He watched the aftermath of ruined friendships, loneliness, and the need to do something for yourself just so you feel alive.

Josh lost his virginity at seventeen to his Homecoming date because that's what you do when you're seventeen and in lust, you've been dating the same girl for three months, and neither one of you can keep your hands off the other. When they broke up before Christmas, there was no shouting match or professed devotion. She was with someone new before the start of the new semester, and Josh slept with two more girls before graduation.

Amazingly enough, he still spoke to all of them.

But _maybe_ he was moving a little off course.

The point that Josh was attempting to get across to himself was that he wasn't the starry-eyed boy wonder that Maya took him for. He knew how her world worked.

And that was why he'd just let her go.

His laptop was already in his bag when he reached for his phone one more time. Josh shut his computer down with three clicks –after making sure to forward his emails to his personal account so he could finish that spreadsheet- and locked up his desk before dropping his keys into the pocket of his leather jacket and scribbling a quick note that he had to leave early and would email his portion of the presentation to all parties involved as soon as humanly possible.

He stuck the sticky note to the computer screen of his next computer neighbor in the cubicle farm and then headed to the elevator.

As much as he hated the fact that Lucas was giving him advice, it didn't make the man wrong.

 **Do you know where she is?**

* * *

He may or may not have rehearsed what he was going to say to her on his trip north on the 1 train. He also may or may not have texted his roommate that he was seeing to something and wouldn't be home to do the store run for the study session that they had had planned.

Josh didn't understand the reality of the situation until he'd made it up to Shawn's front door and tried to keep his momentum going by knocking on the door. Music was blaring through Shawn's surround sound, which told him that Maya was painting, which wasn't unheard of on a Friday afternoon. Melanie Martinez popped out and there was a pause, so he tapped again, hoping that this time it caught her attention.

When the door swung open, Josh understood that he was truly unprepared for this moment.

Maya was barefoot, something that Josh had to admit that he didn't get the privilege of seeing often. He was struck at just how short she truly was before she blinked dumbly, and he shifted his glance in order to not have to admit that he was just as lost as she was.

Which brought him to the fact that he couldn't remember actually seeing her in leggings.

"Josh?" Maya found her voice before he did, one hand on the door frame, the other on the handle.

"Hey."

In the back of his mind, his oldest brother was screaming at him that he was supposed to be well versed in smooth.

The Cab started up overhead, and Josh appreciated the irony that his thoughts were now being drowned out by a song about temporary bliss. Would there ever be a time when there wasn't a soundtrack to his life? He had half a second to wonder what would have been playing last night before he realized that Maya was still staring at him doing her very best 'fish out of water' impersonation.

"I know that decorum states that I'm supposed to give you space, but..." Strangely enough, he had absolutely no interest in lying to her. Maybe he was more Cory than Eric after all. Josh stood there dumbly for a handful of seconds before he realized Maya was going to make him earn any yardage that he managed to gain. He gestured to the door with his chin in lieu of finishing his sentence. Maya's eyes darted to the left, choosing to stare at something above his shoulder than making eye contact. "May I come in?"

A jolt of electricity shot through her, and Maya swallowed and nodded with the same breath, taking a step backward. "Yeah," she didn't look at sure as her voice sounded, but that didn't stop Josh from taking a step forward.

He toed the door behind him closed as Maya darted to the other side of the room. Josh bit his cheek to force himself not to point out that her easel was probably the farthest away from him that she could get without climbing out onto the fire escape. Candor –while the go to with the two of them- probably wouldn't be of any help in this situation.

Instead, he dropped his messenger bag by the door and shrugged off his jacket, sliding it onto the chair back closest to him. "New piece?"

Maya's eyes bugged when she realized that he was taking a step closer to her, and then flitted around the room before she settled. If Josh were to guess, he would say that it was because she realized that the easel was turned toward the window. "Yeah," another deep breath. Josh took a step back. "Started it today."

He wasn't dumb enough to ask to see it, but that didn't mean he wasn't tempted.

"Austin said he saw you today." It was a lame segue, but Josh couldn't think of anything else. He also left out the part where his roommate telling him that he ran into Maya was less of an informative text and more of a 'dude, you fucked up'. "Did he invite you to-"

"Why are you here, Josh?"

Maya still hadn't looked at him. He could only hope that it was one of her many defense mechanisms. Although what it would be protecting her from was a mystery to him. Josh shoved both hands in his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting and nodded slowly. The only sentence that came to mind was, "I wanted to see you."

There was a tsking noise from the other side of the room, and Maya took a step backward, closer to her canvas. Their eyes connected for half a second before she pulled her arms up towards her chest. She didn't have to voice her next question. The word 'why' was written all over her face.

"You ran out on me this morning," he managed, understanding all too well that he was announcing to a woman who was terrified of any sort of commitment that he wanted something more. "I wanted to make sure that," Josh took a breath then. "I'm not sure what I needed to make sure of." There was that damned honesty again. "I just know that you and I seemed to have taken two steps forward last night, and it sucked waking up alone."

Why, oh why, was he still talking?

A faint pink tinged the apples of Maya's cheeks. "It sucked waking up alone?" He couldn't tell if her voice was amused of anxious.

"I don't need you to rehash the 'there are a million and one ways that this could go wrong' speech." Josh threw out quickly, taking another step in her direction. The heel of his hand smacked his thigh as he flipped his class ring around his finger in his pocket, and Josh took a moment to panic that she might notice. "I may not have made it to the advanced class, but I took Maya Hart 101, and I know that last night was _something_ whether you want to admit it or not, and I'm not going to let you take that back." The confidence in Josh's voice lasted longer than his voice did.

She swallowed harshly, her eyes flitting around the room. If he wasn't trying to pretend to be absolutely sure about what just came out of his mouth, Josh would be terrified that he'd played his trump card too soon.

Maya Hart was many things, but most of them were all for show. The joke may have been that she'd successfully dated a third of her graduating class, but that's all it was. Josh knew for a fact that she'd only slept with one other person since she'd lost her virginity her junior year of high school. Not that he was going to admit that. Any knowledge acquired while being responsible enough to keep an eye on his brother's children when Cory and his wife would take the odd long weekend was safely locked away for his own edification. Josh had learned many many years ago how to pretend to be ignorant until told otherwise.

Which was just a really long way of him reminding himself that Maya didn't do one night stands. She didn't sleep around, and she damn sure didn't hop into bed with someone without being 100% sure that that was what she wanted to do.

"Josh-"

The hand in his pocket came out quickly, holding two fingers up cautiously. "You don't want a relationship," another step forward. "I get it. I don't need one either." And he didn't, at least not in the traditional sense. Even if he did, he wasn't about to ask Maya for it. At that very moment, the only thing that Josh needed was for Maya to allow him to keep his foot in the proverbial door.

"I've got my thesis due next semester, graduation's coming up, and I've already started submitting postgrad applications." He schooled his tone to sound nonchalant about that last part. Mainly because he didn't want to tell her that every application he'd put in was for New York-based companies. He'd also begun apartment hunting in the event that S.O.M. accepted his bid to stay on after graduation. There was a single bedroom, industrial loft in SoHo that was coming up for rent in the next few months that Josh was seriously considering putting a bid in for.

None of these things would be beneficial to getting Maya to give him a shot.

So instead he just shrugged. "I'm asking for absolutely nothing."

"Doesn't that go against your programming?" Maya had one hand in her hair now, scratching the base of her skull. She had taken a step forward, and Josh smiled at the fact that she hadn't seemed to notice yet.

"I won't tell if you don't." It wasn't what he wanted to say, but at least it sounded good.

The blonde's head bobbed, and Maya seemed to consider it for a minute. "I don't think you know what you're asking for."

How in the hell had Friar managed to get her to agree to their arrangement?

Josh ran a hand over his head while he contemplated that. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you're forgetting I know you too." Maya moved around the easel, stepping up to the counter from the living area side. "In the back of your head, you think if I agree to this then a few weeks down the line you can get me to agree that it isn't casual. And that we should tell everyone about us." Josh nodded along with her, knowing that when she made her point he was going to have to find a way to refute it. "Then it's 'Josh and Maya are dating' and -in the unlikely event that Cory doesn't flip his shit- things get serious after a while. Then one day, not too far into the future, something's gonna happen. I'm going to get restless, or you're gonna get tired of me, and things are gonna go south. Fast."

Maya's breath was haggard now. This was probably the most honest he had ever seen her about relationships before. "And because I refuse to make Riley chose between you and me, I'm gonna have to back off. And backing off from Riley means losing the Matthews, and losing them means losing Shawn." She was no longer looking at him, the nail of one thumb buried in the flesh of her palm. "And in the end I lose out on the only family I've ever really had because I got greedy and couldn't make it last."

"It's not greedy to want something for yourself." He said without thinking, taking a step to the island. Josh rested his forearms on the granite and studied her face. "And while I think you're wrong about that whole 'me getting tired of you' thing, your logic on the rest of it isn't the craziest thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth."

Her smile was blue but thankful. He didn't hear what came out of her mouth next, but it only took a second before Maya's eyes caught his. "Did you have a Plan B?"

"Plan A hasn't been completely shot down yet," he didn't need her smirk to tell him that his was cocky now. "Look, Maya, you don't want to use labels, then we won't use labels. If you want to keep it casual, we can do that." It was her turn to sigh. "I couldn't care less if my family knows, or who approves." He silenced her with a finger to her lips. There was a quarter of a second before she licked him and he tapped that same finger against her nose. "Because you see, last night I managed to get an incredible woman in my bed," Maya's head tilted to the left, and Josh matched it with the same maneuver to the right. "I can't speak for _her_ , but I didn't think it sucked." Another chuckle. "And I'm prepared to do whatever she wants in order for that to happen again."

He didn't catch the exact moment when Maya's eyes lit up. That didn't mean that Josh didn't smile when he noticed it. "So you're just in it for the sex?"

"I'm also open to buying you dinner at some point." His shrug was noncommittal.

"No dates." Maya cut off his glee with a wave of her hand. "Casual means we don't attempt anything that we wouldn't do as friends."

With a healthy swallow of his pride, Josh held up a finger. "I've paid for your dinner _twice_ in the last week." He pointed out. "It's already a 'friends' thing. But I'll let you have the 'no dates' rule." The words 'for now' hung unspoken in the air. "In the spirit of further clarifying this:" Josh gestured vaguely around the room. "What else?"

"No discussing this with anyone else." Maya's hand swiped through the air as it to signal people that weren't there. "As previously mentioned, I'm not going to put Riley in any position that I can avoid."

For half a second, Josh wished that he could shake her. Maya Hart's happiness should not be conditional to Riley's comfort. But he knew what kind of argument he would be facing if he pointed that out. It may have to be something that he mentions to Friar at a later date. Not that he would tell Maya that. A single finger in the air got her attention. "Exception," he physically pointed. "Austin." When Maya's eyes bugged, he smiled. "He already knows and he pouts when I try to lie."

Maya's mouth quirked. "He already knows?"

As much as it physically pained him, Josh let go of Maya and pulled himself across the room. Her eyes followed him to the spot that he left his messenger bag. Josh had absolutely no idea what possessed him to take her tank top with him when he left the apartment earlier, but he was kind of glad that he had. "You don't remember forgetting anything when you fled from my place this morning, did you?" He flipped the flap on his messenger bag and hooked a finger around the lace.

Josh hadn't realized that Maya actually knew how to blush.

"Sorry," she murmured behind her hand. Then it seemed to hit her. "He found that before I saw him in the quad earlier, didn't he?"

Tossing the camisole on the counter, Josh didn't hesitate to reach for her. "That he did." Maya's body melted against his. "Upside to him knowing is that we don't have to worry about sneaking you in and out."

It seemed to trigger something, and Maya's hand came up between them. "Exception: Lucas."

There was absolutely no surprise to be had. If the text messages that he had gotten earlier hadn't tipped him to that one, Josh probably could have guessed it. "How much does he know?" He asked instead.

"Just a little bit of everything." Maya's shrug was careful, her eyes studying his face.

Josh seemed to consider it for a moment. "He's not going to try to 'big brother' me, is he?"

"I make no promises." Maya's grin grew.

"Rule number three," Josh held up the appropriate number of fingers. "No lying."

"We're not telling anyone, remember?"

Leave it to Maya to only connect _those_ dots. "I _never_ said we were, gorgeous." Josh took a step back, making sure their eyes caught. Josh knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to keep them a secret forever, especially if he managed to convince Maya to make things last. The last thing he needed was someone going crazy over catching them in a lie. Even his niece would be able to get over a secret relationship as long as that was all it was. "You can talk circles around any three people I've ever met, you can't figure out how to skip over the important bits?"

"A lie by omission is still a lie." Maya pointed out as she stepped up to him.

Josh dropped a slow kiss to her lips, not bothering to hide how much he'd wanted to do that since the door opened. "Only to the Catholic Church. So we have a deal?"

"It's been a long day," Maya's arms twinned behind his neck and she popped up on her tip toes. "You do remember that you're still a Matthews, right?"

Josh didn't think twice before hooking his hands on her hips and hoisting her up, taking the three steps needed for him to deposit her on the counter. "One of these days I'm going to get you to believe that Cory and Topanga are the exceptions, not the rule."

Then Maya's hand slid down his back, untucking his v-neck sweater and starting to pull it over his head. "I look forward to that."

He allowed the shirt to be tossed in the general direction of the couch, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth when her triumphant smile lit up her face. While he would love nothing more than to put one hundred percent of his focus on reminding himself just how good the night before had been, Josh allowed himself a moment of responsibility. "Where's Shawn?"

"Assignment in Montauk," Maya divested him of his t-shirt next, her eyes fluttering shut when he nipped her collarbone. "Shouldn't be back until late."

Filing that bit of information in the back of his mind, Josh pulled Maya to the edge of the counter, swiping her tank top up over her shoulders. "Next round at my place then." He used that as a poor excuse of a warning before lifting her again, walking them to the couch and settling her on her back.

* * *

When clothes had been appended, and Shawn's living room had been returned to its original condition, Josh followed Maya back into her bedroom so she could grab her school bag –and a change of clothes- so they could join the others at Austin's study party. "Is there a specific reason why you have a matted and framed book covers on your wall?"

Maya didn't even have to turn around to know that Josh was looking at the redesigned covers of books that she'd done for her installment in the Madison High School Senior Art Festival. _Sense and Sensibility_ and _Hop on Pop_ were the most prominently displayed, with _War and Peace_ and Rebecca rounding out the wall. Originally there were eight pieces in that series, something that had taken Maya a full two and a half months to create. Riley had taken _Pride and Prejudice_ with her to New Haven when they'd helped her move, and Lucas had taken possession of _The Longest Ride_ after she'd practically put his face on it. She'd created the _Frankenstein_ cover specifically for Farkle - a mad scientist joke that probably would never ever go away - and sent it to Stanford with him when he'd left for the early Freshman program after graduation.

"Inside joke that went too far?" Maya offered casually. Riley had gotten Shawn's aid in stealing the portfolio that she had kept them in after the show, and Farkle had gotten them framed as a graduation present for Maya before she'd distributed them. "They were part of my senior art project," she supplied as she grabbed her purse from her desk chair and slid into a pair of ballet flats.

Josh glanced at his watch as she handed him the tote that contained her school supplies. He'd have to text Austin to make sure that there was enough food for the two of them when they arrived. There was almost a groan when he realized that he'd owe his roommate some details before the weekend was through, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

The blonde in front of him shrugged on her own leather jacket as she took her tote back, offering him a quick shove and another kiss before she sauntered out of the room to grab her keys off the counter.

It would be worth it.

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I am still working on the 8tracks for this (a large part of that is creating the album covers). If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

Coming Soon:

"You asked for a date." Maya's voice was amused, and no longer strained. "How bad do you want it?"


	22. Part XIII: Couple of Kids

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,473  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Quick Author's Note: I just wanted to take a minute thank my ever patient beta reader ElleRose77. She's taken time out of her own exam prep to beta this, and she's just an all around ROCKSTAR! Thank you EllaRose77, I couldn't have done it without you. And this chapter is for Hanna (you know who you are). You've talked me off the ledge a few times about these two kids, and I needed that more than you know.

* * *

They had made it through winter finals.

And that kind of achievement meant Jell-O shots and really bad movies at Josh and Austin's place Friday night.

"You don't go out and party the same day you took your test" Austin had explained to Maya that afternoon on the Quad. It had taken him a good ten minutes to get her to listen to his pitch in the first place. "You get together with friends and stay in, so no one has to drag your ass anywhere if you pass out from the crash that comes from mainlining Red Bull for a week."

A Post-Finals Soiree the same day as the last final also meant that the party died down early – well relatively. Austin still had enough energy to attempt a table dance on the coffee table to the Bad Boys theme song sometime between eleven and eleven-thirty, and Jackson had donated some Copic markers so he and Maya could 'decorate' those caught sleeping before midnight.

Chris and Allie were the first to call it a night, citing packing and planning to hit both parents' houses for Christmas and still be back in time to for New Years and to resume their internship schedules. Hope skulked out soon after, still disappointed that no one was willing to hit at least one 'good' party with her. Josh will admit that he wasn't paying attention when Richard and his girlfriend left, or when Lia called a cab. He watched in amused horror when Jackson emptied the contents of his messenger bag though, bequeathing all of the art supplies inside for Maya to carry on without him.

Getting Austin to bed had been the tricky part, both in terms of physically getting him to his mattress and the fact that he was determined to make sure Maya made it home safely.

"I've got it, buddy," He assured him one more time as he rotated his drunken friend. "You just focus on tomorrow's hangover."

"That sounds less fun," he groaned, eyes already closing.

Josh had been in the process of trying to come up with an excuse to not send Maya home when he wandered back into the living room to notice that she had stolen one of his hoodies off the back of the recliner and was, amazingly enough, still curled up in the same position that she had been in previously, watching the end of PUSH. It had taken him maybe a minute and a half to convince her to abandon the rest of the movie in favor of his bed, hoodie decorating the floor of his room with the rest of their clothes.

"Let me take you out."

The voice had been soft, earnest. And when the blonde in his arms didn't stir, he had a fleeting thought that she was asleep. Then little by little her back stiffened and her shoulders tensed. She took one deep breath, and then another, before shaking her head.

"Please."

Her hips shifted before her shoulders did, and he had half a second to slip his arm around her to keep her from rolling over to the other side of the bed. Maya struggled against his hold for a moment, before sighing and burying her head into the meat of his arm. "That's is the opposite of casual."

She didn't say his name. She didn't look at him. Josh was fairly certain that if he even thought about relaxing his grip, she'd be dressed and on her way home before he could get three words out.

"I knew it was too much to ask."

That was all the warning he had before Maya threw her torso forward, trying to leverage herself out of bed. It was a shame that Josh had more upper body strength. She shook for a moment but wasn't able to go far. "Just hear me out."

"One week!" Maya spun in his arms. "It's been a friggin week and you already can't stick to what we agreed to."

She slammed a hand down onto his shoulder and Josh ate the wince. "Stop." He caught her next thump, shifting so he could flip them over. "Please." She stopped shuffling but hadn't looked at him. "This whole thing is new to me," he started. "And I'm not used to this _yet_." Her breath caught, and Josh forced himself to focus on the freckle on her shoulder to keep going. "I don't need a date -not a real one- but I need something to keep me from thinking that all this is going to be is one of the two of us on our backs in my bed."

"We were on the couch yesterday," Maya seemed to point out before she could stop herself.

His eyes rolled even as he dropped to his forearm to slide his lips over hers. "I don't want to lose the 'friends' part of this arrangement."

"Noted," another kiss.

Josh shouldn't have taken the breath when he did. It might have seemed a bit too celebratory. It certainly was a bit premature. But Maya's shoulders relaxed before he asked, "May I please take you out?"

The nod that followed was slight, and that should have sent the first red flag. "Shawn and Cory are heading to New Haven to pack Riley today." A quick glance at the clock beside his bed told him that it truly was Saturday, and Maya was incredibly serious. "Topanga and I have spin at ten, but I can meet you after."

The digital display flicked to 1:24 and Josh had to force his next breath from his lungs. "That's less than twelve hours from now." He pointed out, thankful for the lack of light in his room.

"You asked for a date." Maya's voice was amused, and no longer strained. "How bad do you want it?"

Readjusting her beneath him, Josh threaded a hand through her hair. "Be ready to leave your place at eleven-thirty." He commanded gently. Then his lips descended, and there was no more talking.

* * *

Exactly one minute before eleven-thirty, Josh stepped up to Shawn's door. The man in question wasn't home, not that it had mattered. Since Fall break he had come to collect Maya for all manner of activities and his pseudo-brother hadn't said anything about it yet. Then again, those had been more or less of the platonic variety. Shawn would hang him from the ceiling if he'd been privy to the last two weeks in his and Maya's life.

It's a good thing that both of them were adamant about him not finding out.

His knock was quick, a rapid staccato that only announced his arrival, and he knew that she made him wait the three minutes it took her to get to the door on purpose –because this was Maya they were talking about.

It wasn't until the door popped open that Josh realized that they had never discussed proper day-date wardrobe. He'd gone for his typical Saturday attire of faded jeans and a v-neck pulled over a button down for comfort reasons. He'd also opted for his leather jacket because it was cool, but not totally cold yet. He didn't expect to feel underdressed when Maya propped herself on the door jamb to readjust the powder pink pump she was sliding into. The rest of her outfit was incredibly girly and could easily be misconstrued as casual as well, a pair of well-fitting boyfriend jeans with holes in the knees and the bottom cuffs rolled up, and a plain white tee layered underneath a pink blazer.

"Very nice," Josh found himself muttering appreciatively.

Maya's eyes cut to his for a split second before she shook her head, taking a step back to retrieve her thrift store MCM and flip her ponytail over her shoulder. "I didn't know what was on the agenda," she double checked the contents of her purse before using the arm not holding the back to force him back a step so she could exit the apartment. "So I just threw something together."

Another approving nod, "You're not helping your 'I don't date' image." He threw out, pulling his other hand from behind his back before she could debate it with him. "Peace offering?"

The laugh that bubbled from Maya's mouth was worth the expense of the coffee he'd stopped to procure on his way to Shawn's. While Maya appreciated caffeine in any form, when Shawn had purchased his place in TriBeCa she had absolutely fallen in love with the Everyman Espresso on the other side of Canal Street. She picked some up every time she stayed at Shawn's. It meant that she would have to add an extra 10 minutes to her morning commute to the Subway, but she used to swear that it was worth it.

Maya plucked the macchiato out of his hand deftly, taking a long sip and not caring that her lipstick was now smudged.

Swallowing carefully, Maya tried not too carefully. "So far so good," she sidestepped him deftly, pulling the door shut behind her and twisting the knob to make sure it was locked. "Where to first?"

The voice in the back of his mind told Josh that her heels meant that he should spring for a cab. It was proper first date etiquette after all. He actually considered it for a second too. Then he remembered that the woman in question was Maya Hart, and if he mentioned that he was second guessing whether or not to take her on the subway because she'd chosen to wear heels, she just may call the entire thing off.

"We need to be on the southbound C." He cocked his elbow to indicate that he was offering her his arm and led her to the stairs.

Maya took another sip of her coffee and smiled. "The C runs to Brooklyn." She noted as they hit the bottom of the steps, Josh opening the door to the building and holding it for the elderly couple that lived on the first floor. Maya waited at the bottom of the landing for him to pull the heavy door closed behind him

"It does." Josh rejoined her and turned her toward the corner of TriBeCa Park to take the shortcut to the Canal Street Station.

"We're going to Brooklyn?" It probably didn't need to be said, but she did anyway.

"As a native New Yorker, I'd be shocked if you _didn't_ connect those dots." Her grip on his bicep tightened as she stepped onto the grass, her heels sinking in a touch more than either of them anticipated. She grumbled something under her breath and his smile just grew. "It just kills you not to know something, doesn't it?"

Another grumble and Maya flipped her ponytail again, smacking him in the face. "It's a good thing you're only getting one of these." She said pointedly.

Josh just rolled his eyes as they crossed the next street, letting her slide in front of him to walk down into the subway terminal. As she slipped her wallet from her purse, Josh reached for his own. He couldn't remember which Metrocard Maya subscribed to, but he wasn't about to ask her if she needed him to put money on it.

When he didn't say anything, Maya glanced over her shoulder, slipping the card into the turn style. "You're not going to fight me on this?"

Josh's smile just grew. "It just kills you not to know something, doesn't it?" He repeated carefully, following her through the turn style and over to the platform.

Shoving her card back into her wallet, Maya eyed him over her sunglasses. "You're making me question all of my life choices up to this moment."

He dipped low for a second, sneaking a quick kiss before he pressed his lips to her forehead. "Shut up and drink your coffee."

They talked about grades and next semester's classes during the twelve-minute ride from Canal Street to Lafayette Avenue. Maya voiced her worry about registering for another six classes while Josh talked about his thesis work and how he'd decided to settle on a study of centrality in the modern city –which Maya promptly announced had to be one of the most boring things that she had ever heard of, it didn't matter if he was willing to explain it to her- and how his faculty advisor was challenging him to hit at least one hundred and fifty pages.

While retaining the air of the unimpressed, Maya wondered aloud just how many students in the city managed to obtain a five-year Bachelor's degree in only four.

There was a pause in Josh's sentence, and he could tell that Maya really had no idea what he had just said. He didn't fault her for it, though. She'd startled him when she asked him about graduation prep, and he'd babbled on for a few minutes about taking the National Architectural Accrediting Board's Registration Exam in June after he graduated and then taking the rest of the summer 'off' before submitting his dissertation topic to be accepted in the NYU post-professional Master of Architecture program. It was a secondary program, something that could be worked on in addition to his full-time job –but it would afford him a better salary and promotion options in anytime between one year or two when he made it through the program.

"Have you checked your grades yet?" He turned slightly to prop himself up on one of the central poles on the train. The C wasn't crowded for a late Saturday morning so she had a seat to herself, but his view of her was easier standing in front of her.

Maya's lip quirked. "Negatory, Ghost Rider." Wisps of blonde hair escaped around her temples as she shook her head. "I'm not mentally prepared for that one yet."

He couldn't hide his own smile. "You've been a solid A and B student from the start of the semester." Maya's eyes caught his and he nodded when she seemed to ask how he remembered that. "There is absolutely no reason why you should be worried about checking your exam scores."

"That's easy for you to say." The train reached Jay Street and Maya reached for the pole that Josh was leaning against, pulling herself up to stand next to him so an older woman and a little girl could take her seat. "The last three and a half years for you have been grants, student loans, and financial aid." He wanted to kiss her then, if for no other reason to get the frown starting at the corner of her lips to dissipate. "I'm an inner city, scholarship kid."

He refused to rise to the bait and point out that she was raised in The Village. Yeah, she lived in a third-floor walkup with her mom, instead of –say- the Upper East Side like Farkle or the spacious townhouse style building that Riley did, but it wasn't exactly what anyone would refer to as 'inner city'.

But she'd moved on.

"I have to maintain an 85 average to keep the scholarship package that I was lucky enough to get." Maya wasn't looking at him anymore, allowing her gaze to wander out of the window to Brooklyn. "Without it, NYU is just a very fond memory."

Josh wanted to tell her that he believed without question that managed to pull it off. Hell, Katy was boasting to Topanga not three days ago that Maya was walking into her Discreet Mathematics with a whopping 98. Sure it was an Intro to Math course, but it didn't make the grade any less impressive.

Instead, he leaned into the pole, allowing one hand to curl around her hip so he could shift himself into her, coming down for a kiss.

Maya's first protest was going to be that there were a woman and child not five feet from them, Josh knew it just like he knew he was going to take another breath. But the kid in question was playing with some sort of electronic, and her guardian just winked at them. "If you want, we can pick up some Sixpoint on the way home so you and Riley can fortify yourselves tomorrow before you check?"

"And they say romance is dead," Maya barked.

Josh let go of her hip to bring his hand up between them. "I said nothing about romance, Hart." He corrected mock-sternly, mimicking Cory's exasperated finger wave.

The train was pulling into the next station now, and Maya used her scepticism as an excuse to brace against both him and the pole to keep herself upright. "You didn't?"

Shaking his head, Josh readjusted his arm above her head and leaned closer to her. "I simply offered you and my niece liquid courage to make it through your first post-finals grade check."

Even the woman on the bench in front of him stopped pretending she wasn't eavesdropping on them to nod in agreement.

Maya begrudgingly nodded along with her. "Your thoughtfulness is appreciated." Another quick kiss. "Now, where are we going?" The electronic voice interrupted her question to announce that they had reached Lafayette/Fulton Street Station, and Josh looped an arm around the blonde's waist to shuffle her off the train. "You're still not going to tell me, are you?"

"I'm pretending I'm still in charge of this day for another," a quick breath and a calculation while Maya fell into step beside him, "Five blocks." He readjusted his grip on her hip, plucking her now empty coffee cup out of her hands and tossing it in a bin on their way out of the station.

They took the Oxford Street staircase, and when they popped up, he used his hand to guide her toward Lafayette Avenue.

"Can I guess?" Maya had shoved her hand in his pocket now, which Josh would have found odd if he hadn't seen her do it to Lucas on multiple occasions. Riley used to joke that it was Maya's equivalent to holding hands in public. "If I guess right, will you tell me? She started toying with the change that he'd shoved there from her morning coffee.

Yeah, Josh might never get used to _that_ sensation.

A quick glance down told Josh that this was almost one hundred percent unconscious on the blonde's part. She didn't even seem to realize she was doing it. She scanned the street as they walked, trying to get her bearings. Josh wasn't entirely sure how much time Maya had been able to spend in Brooklyn. He wondered if she'd be able to guess correctly.

"If it'll make you happy," the hand on the hip shifted to her shoulder and Josh tucked her closer to him. "Give it your best shot."

"Well," Maya used the hand on the far side to tap her chin. "Neither one of us have eaten yet," another tap. "Will there be food at our destination?"

Josh flicked her nose. "I never told you I'd give you a hint."

"You're just no fun." Maya shifted away from him before he could flick her again. "Fine. Did you bring me out to Brooklyn for lunch?"

"I _could_ feed you," he decided after a moment. "But that is not the reason for our trip." They took five more steps before they passed a pizza joint on the other side of the street.

Her eyes flicked from one side of the street to the other, and Josh could feel her brain cycling through the information she'd been given. It actually amazed him that she hadn't already figured out where they were headed. Their destination had at least two other locations on the island of Manhattan, and he knew that Riley and Maya were regulars there throughout their high school careers.

Another step and a half and Maya stopped dead, jerking Josh back with her, as she caught sight of the green banner half a block in front of them on the right.

"The Brooklyn Flea?" She spun so suddenly, that Josh took a step back again, her wrist rotating in his pocket. Her tone would have scared him if it weren't for the fact that her eyes were wide. This was a woman who couldn't believe that a guy would be willing to shop with her. "But why?"

Any sarcastic answer Josh was prepared to give flew from his brain as Maya's eyes softened. "Because this is something that I know you haven't done since fall break," he said simply. "And I know you missed it." It was Maya's turn to initiate the kiss, standing in the middle of the sidewalk forcing others to move around them. When they broke apart, Josh's grin turned dirty. "Not to mention Christmas is in four days," he threw out offhandedly, spinning her back in the direction of the flea market. "And you, my dear, are really effing hard to shop for."

Maya flicked her purse back down her unattached arm, eyes rolling. "And the moment's gone."

Neither one could hide their laughter now.

They made it three steps into the gated area before Maya seemed to be physically vibrating. Briefly, Josh wondered how much this great idea of his was going to cost him.

"Takumi!" Maya bounced on her heels and pointed in the direction of the taco food truck. "Can we?" She didn't seem to realize that her other hand was still in his pocket, or that their arms were intertwined. "I'll share some spicy tuna nachos!"

Josh extracted her hand from his pocket, pulling his wallet out with it. "I appreciate the offer," the wallet flipped open while Maya was still bouncing in place. One of these days someone was going to have to explain Maya's obsession with food to him. "But if you're getting spicy tuna, you can have it all to yourself." Extracting a Hamilton, Josh passed it to Maya. "Grab me a veggie taco?"

She barely got the word 'yes' out of her mouth before she was racing to the food truck. Josh sighed, realized that an elderly gentleman was smiling at him from the shade of one of the tents, returned that smile indulgently and followed in the direction of his date.

An hour and a half –and two orders of hand cut fries tossed in black truffle oil- and Josh had successfully purchased Maya two Christmas presents. The first was an indigo and cherry handmade leather Brooklyn bag that Maya had walked by a total of five times. Each time she ran her hand over the miniature satchel before checking the price –which hadn't changed- sighing and moving on.

The subterfuge had begun when Josh had sent her to the Home Frite truck for their first order of fries. He tried to keep one eye on her as he slid three booths over to snag the bag, paying a touch extra for them to have it messengered to his office on Monday so he wouldn't have to figure out how to get it home without her noticing.

When Maya returned with the starchy goodness, almost smothered in chipotle ranch because he should have known better, Josh was already back to the booth where she'd left him, toying with the strap of a wall hanging dangling from the pole of the tent. They argued over what constituted half of the portion they were given, more because Maya swore that he took too big of a bite than anything else before she slipped her hand back into his pocket and led him across the aisle to another vendor.

When they made it back around to Flux, Maya loudly announced her dismay at the fact that the bag was now gone, pouting off and completely missing the smirk of the vendor watching them.

The second present was obtained with Maya's knowledge.

They had been standing in the Jessica DeCarlo Jewelry booth for the better part of ten minutes while Maya perused for the perfect addition to Riley's present when her fingers brushed the silver antler wreath necklace, and her finger fiddled with the delicate black garnet dangling from the wreath. Josh took a step back and smiled as she toyed with it with the same unconscious indifference that she did the change in his pocket, or the dime nestled against her collarbone before she settled on a bronze wrist cuff with stars on each end. She tried the cuff on and took it back off again three times before deciding that it was something her best friend would wear. When she turned to the vendor to pay for the purchase, Josh stepped back up.

"Can I please get one of those in silver, and that necklace," he pointed over Maya's shoulder with the hand that held the fresh container of fries –purchased because he apparently ate too many of the last batch and Maya demanded her fair share- to the necklace she'd been playing with.

Maya stepped back, onto his foot, and glared up at him. "I'm not letting you buy Riley's Christmas present for me."

He had to bite back his laugh, masking it with an indulgent smile. " _First of all_ , I'm not that dumb." Josh flipped his wallet open and handed the young lady manning the booth his debit card with a "you can run that as credit." Then he turned back to Maya. "Secondly, I told you earlier, you're a pain in the ass to shop for." Maya glared increasing pressure on the meat of his foot. "You went back and forth four times with the brass or the silver for Riles, and I think that's because you prefer the silver. So _you're_ getting yet another piece of jewelry that you and Riley can shout _'twinsies'_ about, and the necklace that you couldn't keep your hands off of. _Merry Christmas_." The teen returned with his bagged purchase, along with an iPad for him to sign the Square receipt and Josh gestured to Maya with his chin. "Can you please ring her up so she'll get off my foot?"

Apparently that was all Maya needed to hear, bouncing away from him in the direction of the girl as she bent to retrieve a box for the cuff. The smile she threw him over her shoulder was victorious, and he let her take the win she felt she earned.

He refused to let her carry the bag with her new jewelry in it when they left the booth. When she pouted he reminded her that he grew up with Cory and Morgan, she was going to have to do better than that. And anyway, he had told her what she was getting _for_ Christmas, that didn't mean she was getting it early.

They had almost made it back to the entrance, Josh citing that they had someplace to be, when Maya's eye was caught by a furniture vendor.

"That belongs in your new living room." Maya declared, pointing to the vintage factory cart that had been turned into a coffee table. It appeared to have most of the original wood and metal on it, restored to near original condition. The distressing was natural as well. If he'd had the money to spend –and a place to put it- Maya might have been able to convince him that it needed to go home with him.

" _I_ don't even have a new place yet." The argument was futile.

Maya's shrug confirmed it. "It's industrial, and oddly vintage contemporary," she crouched down and unlocked one wheel to see if it still rolled. "It's gonna look perfect with the old-school drafting table we all know your parents are going to find you as a graduation present."

And really, was there any way to argue with that? "What if it doesn't match the rest of the apartment?" Josh hadn't even told her about the loft-style that he had found, but another shrug told him that whether it was there, or a new place yet to be determined, the day he moved in there would most likely be a factory cart waiting for him to use as a coffee table.

He wondered who she would get to buy it for him.

Most likely Cory, because he was wrapped so tight around both her and Riley's fingers it would make anyone else's head spin.

Her rolled eyes pointed out that he hadn't disagreed with the possible graduation present from his parents. It was probably in large part due to the fact that that was the Matthews MO. When Eric had been voted in as mayor of St. Upidtown, Amy and Allen had tracked down an antique American flag and had it framed for his office. When he'd been elected as New York's Junior Congressman they'd found him an aria writing desk to move to DC with him. When Cory had picked up his very first teaching gig, his parents had had an 1852 Merriam & Moore Celestial Globe delivered to the school on his first day. Morgan had received a leather tooled doctor's bag and an antique stethoscope when she'd finished her residency at Emory and joined the family practice that introduced her to her husband. It was and easy guess that when Josh finished his he would be graced with a (rather large) tool of his trade.

Maya rolled the cart for a second longer before locking the wheel and standing up. "We'll make it work." She decided, allowing him to move her two steps back, away from the rolling table.

"We?" Josh caught her eye as he maneuvered her back to the row so he could attempt exit number two. "You planning on still being around when I get my new place?"

"I'm gonna be here whether we're still sleeping together or not," the tone was flippant. The eyes that flicked away from his faster than he'd ever seen suddenly appeared sheepish. It was as if she hadn't thought that he'd still be interested in her in six months. Or that suddenly her surety in their friendship had faltered.

Josh nodded, "True enough." They passed through the gates, and Maya snagged the last of the fries before tossing cardboard container that housed them into a recycling bin. "And we both know I'm going to need your particular brand of expertise if I want to have a cooler apartment than Shawn."

Her eyes shown as she laughed. "You're not gonna give up on that, are you?"

A quick kiss to her temple gave Josh the time to mentally pat himself on the back. "Never."

* * *

Much to Josh's amusement, Maya was equal parts horrified and delighted when they arrived at their next destination for what Josh had told her was going to be a 'late lunch.'

He'd discovered Haven's Kitchen during his second year at NYU. He'd been seeing Becca for a little under three months and somewhere along the way she had announced that she'd been taking cooking classes since being away from home, which was Southern California in case she hadn't mentioned it five times in the last hour, where they had a housekeeper that did most of the cooking for them. He'd been raised in a household where he'd been taught that fending for yourself –and making dinner for your mother once in a while- was essential to survival, but when she said that the next class involved homemade tortillas, he was more than a little interested.

Becca had dumped him almost directly after the class –"You didn't have to yell at me, I didn't know that that wasn't supposed to catch fire"- and moved back to SoCal at the end of the semester, but he had talked Austin into catching a class every now and again after that. When Maya had given him 11 hours of prep time to come up with the 'perfect date'. His mind had immediately jumped to the fact that the schedule on the fridge stated there was an afternoon Chinese Dumpling class, which would fit perfectly with the theme of the day.

And so he and Maya prepared and ate Asian-style dumplings filled with both juicy meats and savory vegetables with [minimal] issues.

Then to apologize for the fact that he'd dumped flour in her hair, purposefully after she had announced to the class he had 'freakishly long arms', and slamming her hips against the counter –that one had been on accident – Maya turned to kiss him after forgiving him for the flour and he shifted forward too soon, Josh had instructed the cabbie to locate the nearest Starbucks on their way to their last destination.

"I have to admit," Maya cupped the cardboard mug in both hands, relishing in the warmth. The day had chilled some, but they could barely feel it inside the butterfly vivarium at the Museum of Natural History. She turned again, to catch a glimpse of the swallowtail skimming over her shoulder, and smiled. "You do know how to put a day together."

It didn't escape Josh's notice that she still hadn't referred to it as a date. "You've been telling me all day that I only get one of these," he reminded her gently, stepping up behind her and gripping her hips, forcing her to step back into him. "I fully intended to make the most of it."

Another butterfly, this time one that Josh couldn't name, skittered past them and Maya nodded slowly. "You realize you did _nothing_ to dispel the Matthews Mystique, right?"

 _You win some, you lose some_ , Josh supposed. "Have you enjoyed yourself today?" He said instead.

Maya paused halfway to smelling one of the flowers on the trellis they were stopped next to. "I kinda think I did." Her voice was soft, but Josh was watching her face. Where her usual skepticism resided, none was apparent.

"Then it really doesn't matter."

Another pause and Maya shifted to stand upright, turning and taking three steps forward to come almost nose to nose with Josh. In the moment before her hand slid from his chest up his collarbone to his neck, Josh wondered just how tall her heels were. And how many pairs like it she owned. He probably preferred her in flats, though. Tiny Maya was-

Her other arm joined the first, hands grasping the short hairs at his nape and pulling him into her. Josh braced one arm between her shoulder blades and the other on the railing behind him to keep them from falling over. She had started small, with just a touch of their lips. Then her tongue slid along the crease of his lips and he stepped her backward into the railing so he could slide both arms down her sides. There was a third of a second before she bounced up onto her toes to deepen the kiss, and one of Josh's hands immediately came up to her cheek to try to rein her back in. The part of his brain that was still attempting normal thought patterns kept reminding him that they were in the middle of a museum more or less in the middle of the island of Manhattan.

And neither one of them needed to be arrested for indecent exposure today.

A fairy princess twinkle interrupted what had to be one of the longest kisses of Josh's young life, and his hand flexed to try to physically hold on to the moment.

"It's not important." Josh muttered when the kisses had slowed and they parted just long enough to gasp for breath.

Despite almost being attached at the mouth; Maya shook her head. "It's Riley."

He wished he could argue with her. The paradigm was on the tip of his tongue, begging to be uttered. But Josh had gained ground today, and he wasn't about to let it go over an argument that half of New York knew he'd lose. So Josh brushed his lips against hers once more and reached into her back pocket to retrieve her phone. He handed it over with flourish and a bow, taking a step back when she plucked the metal and plastic from his palm.

"They decided not to stay the night in New Haven."

And _there_ went whatever plans Josh was going to try to come up with for dinner.

He took a breath at the exact same time his own phone chimed, the opening chords to some wholesome Disney Channel show seeming to echo in his head. He didn't have to reach for it to know that it probably contained a longer version of the message that Maya was reading now. They were almost back to the city –or they had just pulled up- and in Matthews tradition, Cory was taking everyone out to eat in order to celebrate Riley's first semester at Yale.

"Dinner?"

Maya nodded, bouncing from one foot to another. "Dinner," she confirmed. "Trattoria."

Instead of the first thing that popped into his head, Josh scanned his eyes over her body. "I think you're overdressed."

"No one questions me." Her braid flipped over her shoulder and she sent whatever her answer to Riley had been. "We're supposed to be there in twenty." Josh still hadn't reached for his phone. "And you and I can't arrive together."

Another comment died when he bit his lip. "Think you can make it through a meal without assaulting me?"

Maya dropped her phone into her purse, rolling her eyes. "Can _you_?" Josh couldn't hold back his smile. "If you start to slip, we can have a quickie in the bathroom."

They both knew she was kidding.

Josh reached for her again, wrapping her braid around his hand to use it to leverage her lips back to his. He wasn't sure which one of them pulled back next, but they did it to the sound of Riley's text tone.

"Thank you."

Maya's eyes darkened, and Josh watched as it took her longer than he would have expected to connect the dots as to why he'd said it. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Josh shrugged. "Today was," Maya swallowed hard, "A lot better than I thought it'd be."

"Set the bar low?" Josh had turned them around now, headed in the direction of the exit. "Should I be offended?"

"I don't date well," Maya explained. "And you may have made me question that."

"I promise not to ask for another one." She'd release his arm as they reached the street. "Ready to pretend we haven't seen each other naked?"

It was Maya's turn to laugh; a full-bellied chuckle that had her reaching for him again. They stood there as she regained her composure and ran a hand over her face. "See you in twenty?"

He couldn't resist dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Twenty," he agreed. And then Maya spun on her heel and headed for the subway.

Josh hailed a cab.

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I am still working on the 8tracks for this (a large part of that is creating the album covers). If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

Coming Soon:

Sitting back up, Josh handed her his coffee. "Mom and Dad are here." He regained the mug quickly, as Maya flipped herself over to mutter curses into his pillow. "My sentiments exactly." When she'd recovered, Josh handed her the mug back. He shifted back to his feet and slid across the room to his closet. "And you may want to turn your ringer back on. Riley's inviting you to breakfast."


	23. Part XIV: Amy, Did You Know?

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 8,726  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Quick Author's Note: My beta is on hiatus while she takes her exams. All errors are mine.

* * *

"Yo roomie!" The door to Josh's room swung open before his eyes did, and Josh barely managed to become conscious enough to yank the cover over Maya's sleeping form before Austin leaned against the jam and popped his head in.

He certainly did not know which one of them cursed.

Blinking as he sat up, Josh's eyes caught the clock on the other side of the sleeping blonde before casting them in the direction of the man currently doing his best deer in headlights impression. "It's not even nine." He croaked, wishing that he'd had the frame of mind to get himself a bottle of water when he'd grabbed one for Maya the night before. "Why the hell are you standing in my room?"

Austin seemed to come back to himself, smile now bright as he threw his head in the direction of the hallway. "Your folks are here."

"Ha ha, ass hole."

"Funnily enough, not joking."

Suddenly Josh couldn't breathe. "They were supposed to call when they got into town." He rolled over then, searching the floor on his side of the bed for the boxers that Maya had divested him of the night before.

"Apparently your phone's off."

He snatched the offending contraption off his nightstand in the same motion that also yanked his John Adams High School athletic department hoodie off of his desk chair. He tapped the screen a handful of times as he shrugged the garment on and muttered another set of choice words. "It's dead," he corrected scornfully. He managed the one and a half steps to his desk and dropped it on the wireless charger.

For the life of him, Josh didn't remember why it hadn't made it there in the first place the night before.

While it was entirely possible that he just couldn't help himself, Josh cast another glance to the woman in his bed –who had shifted three inches to the left in order to appropriate his pillow- and shook his head. He pushed Austin back through his bedroom door, catching his mother's jacket out of the corner of his eye.

"If you tell them Maya's here," he began slowly. "Your disappearance will be more mysterious than Jimmy Hoffa's."

Austin pantomimed zipping his lips shut and throwing away a key, his smile back in full force as they crossed the threshold from the small hallway where Josh's bedroom and bathroom sat to the main living space. Meanwhile, Josh was trying very hard to remember to breathe.

"You guys are _hellaciously_ early." He didn't bother moving towards his parents, choosing instead to skirt past the chair that he didn't remember moving to get to the coffee pot.

"It's _Christmas Eve_ , honey." Amy did not seem deterred, coming up behind her youngest and wrapping both arms around him while he flicked the coffee maker on and reached for the mugs. "We wanted to make sure we could spend as much time with you as possible."

It was blatantly obvious that Austin had not shut his bedroom room door all the way when a chuckle broke out into the living area. He wouldn't have to worry about whether or not he was moving to Silicon Valley. Josh was going to murder his roommate. Slowly.

"Thanks, Ma." When he got his own place, Josh had already planned on investing in a faster coffee pot. This one was not currently delivering the brew to the carafe fast enough to make his sometimes helicopter mother bearable on three hours of sleep. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that had he just let Maya go home last night, he most likely wouldn't be grumbling now.

He quickly told that voice to shut the eff up because it had been worth it.

If only his parents weren't in his kitchen and he could climb back in bed.

"Was there an actual plan for the day?" He asked aloud without thinking. Austin barked again from the other room and his mother took a step back.

Alan just smiled. "Did you have something else you'd rather be doing this morning, son?"

Another laugh from the peanut gallery and Josh mentally flicked his roomie off. "Not really," he only hoped that it was a convincing lie. "Just trying to figure out how long I have for the coffee to kick in."

"Your brothers and Topanga are meeting us for breakfast in an hour." Alan offered casually. "How much time do you need to be able to leave the house?" His father glanced over his current choice in wardrobe to indicate that clothing might also be needed for the venture.

"Give me five." He grabbed the carafe and poured himself a healthy mug of coffee. "And I'll be ready to go."

He'd taken two steps in the direction of his bedroom when Amy perked up. "Would you like to join us, Austin?"

His damn roommate's smirk was audible. "I don't want to intrude, ma'am."

"Nonsense!" Amy laughed. Josh knew that it wouldn't matter to his mother if they had had reservations. She had probably just realized that Austin was alone for Christmas and decided he was joining in on the festivities. The poor boy didn't stand a chance. "Cory said that Riley was going to try to invite Maya anyway." Josh glanced at his roommate over his shoulder, eyes cautious. "There's plenty of room for everyone!"

Austin took a rather loud slurp of his juice. "Maya's invited, you say?"

On second thought, death would be too kind for Austin.

Alan coughed when he caught Josh glaring and his roommate's grin. "What?" Austin didn't even have the nerve to pretend that he wasn't finding this entire scene as funny as hell. "I'm merely inquiring as to how many people I will be dining with this morning."

Before his father could actually investigate the tension, Josh took another gulp of coffee. "I'm getting dressed."

"You do that." Austin knew that he had won. For now.

Josh toed his bedroom door shut, thankful that the bed was on the opposite side of the room, and therefore not visible from the kitchen. He resisted the urge to just climb back in on his side, knowing that if he curled himself around Maya, neither one of them would be making it to breakfast, parents be damned. Instead, he propped himself up on the side of the bed that Maya had claimed for herself, slipping one hand under his down comforter to run it from her hip to her knee and back again.

One blue eye popped open.

"Were you planning on dying today?"

Leaning further into the bed, Josh gripped the base of her skull with one hand and pulled her in for a kiss. "Only if you can manage it in the next thirty seconds." Another kiss and he didn't resist when Maya's tongue brushed his lower lip. "And your escape route will have to be out that window."

"Window?"

Sitting back up, Josh handed her his coffee. "Mom and Dad are here." He regained the mug quickly, as Maya flipped herself over to mutter curses into his pillow. "My sentiments exactly." When she'd recovered, Josh handed her the mug back. He shifted back to his feet and slid across the room to his closet while she grabbed her glasses off the nightstand. "And you may want to turn your ringer back on. Riley's inviting you to breakfast."

Maya quirked a lip and reached over the side of the bed for the long sleeve Phillie's shirt she had been wearing the night before when they had watched _It's a Wonderful Life_ with Riley and Will. It still amazed Josh how Riley hadn't batted an eye when she arrived with Will in tow to find Maya already curled up on the couch in the shirt, blanket over her legging covered knees as she shouted a perfectly timed 'Matthews, your apartment is too damn cold!' over whatever had been on television at the time. He supposed it was just the power of Maya Hart.

"How long do I have?"

"Dad says an hour." He pulled a green sweater over his t-shirt and reached for a pair of jeans. "I'll get them out the door as soon as I can." The worn denim slid easily over his hips, and he turned around just in time to watch Maya twist an appreciative brow. "Austin's coming with us, so you can go ahead and take my shirt."

"I was going to anyway," shoving the blankets off of her legs, Maya reached for the rest of the pile of her clothes. She paused as Josh moved to the dresser on the opposite side of the room to slide his watch on his wrist, twisting his fingers to lock the clasp before palming his wallet and checking the battery on his phone. "I'll see you in an hour?"

He was across the room in seconds, using the foot of the bed as leverage to get one last good kiss in. "I'd suggest a sweater," he shot out, nipping an already forming red mark on her clavicle before bouncing back out of the room.

Thankfully he pulled the door shut behind him, as his father was coming out of the bathroom at the same time.

"Who's ready for some grub?"

* * *

By happy accident entirely, Josh, his parents, and his roommate made it to Casimir & Company on the Upper East Side only a few minutes before the blonde that had snuck out of the apartment. They joined his brothers and niece and nephew at the insanely long table the staff had found –the family had been informed that they were almost turned away before one of the managers noticed that Congressman Matthews was among the party- and placed against the long window near the entrance. Josh joked with Will about Riley tearing up at the end of the movie the night before, and the brunette only threatened to tell Maya that they were being mean to her once before said blonde sashayed through the door.

Josh also made a valiant effort to appear unsurprised that at ten-thirty in the morning, the day before Christmas, Maya had somehow managed to find Lucas Friar.

"Carol Ann and I have an agreement," Maya explained carefully to Alan while Lucas maneuvered her into the chair Riley had left open for her between the blonde and the Texan and across from Josh himself. "She lets us have him until midnight mass," Maya shrugged off her jacket and pushed up her sleeves all in one motion. "And I don't show up at six am tomorrow morning demanding breakfast and presents."

"I'm not waking up at six for you," Cory shot down the table, shaking his head at the teens. "You can wait until nine like the rest of the crazies."

Maya's smile grew and she winked at Josh's father. "That's what he thinks." She mouthed as she took the menu Riley was offering her.

Beside him, Austin just laughed. "You are way too damn chipper this morning." Maya's smile brightened as she reached over to steal his orange juice.

"We will get you your own." Lucas returned Austin's orange juice and flagged down a waiter. "She needs an OJ and a coffee, black with two sugars, and may I please have a coffee with cream and a glass of milk?" The pretty redhead jotted down the newest editions to the bill and laughed when Lucas reached over to put his hand across Maya's mouth without turning to look at her. "Thank you, ma'am."

Maya muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a threat against Lucas's bacon before she realized that she was now in the middle of a table of twelve other people. Her smile transitioned quickly, and Josh watched her physically stop and start again.

"Where is Sir William this morning?"

"Yonkers," Riley repositioned herself so she could admire Maya's choice of attire for the day –a short marsala sweater dress with sheer black leggings and knee high boots, covering up every inch of skin without being overt about it- an unconscious nod of approval evident. "We get him for ice skating later and then he can sit with us at Mass."

"Because the Bixby's are nice like that." Maya perused the menu as she spoke. "Can we have him tomorrow night for our annual Christmas movie?" It was a tradition started their freshman year of high school when boredom and too many young people a sugar high in his living room led to Cory handing out all of the cash from his wallet so they would leave his house. "I've almost got Hopalong convinced to agree to the new Nicholas Sparks."

Lucas's hand came out of nowhere, depositing the orange juice the server brought right next to her elbow. "She's lying to you." He told Riley quickly. "Farkle and I are still holding out for the new Peter Jackson."

History dictated that this was generally the part where Maya would shift in her chair, slip him a dirty but still amazingly PG kiss, and whisper something suggestive in his ear to get Lucas to comply with their wishes. Josh took a sip of his coffee in order to properly steel himself against any involuntary action that might occur during such a display.

Which was why he almost choked on the dark liquid when Maya simply ran her hand up Lucas's thigh, shifting on her hips so she could kiss his cheek and mumbled something against his jaw.

Riley made a joke about Maya finally understanding the difference between public and private behavior.

Lucas just shifted his light eyes across the table to meet Josh's.

"You guys are coming with us," the Texan managed another sip of his coffee as he nodded to the guys across the table. "Don't you want to weigh in on what we're watching?"

Auggie shouted something from the other side of his parents, and Austin leveled Josh with another knowing smile. "Maya seems to have a way to make a very convincing argument." It was a shame that Alan was on the other side of Josh, and Amy found the young adult's conversation more interesting than whatever legislation Topanga and Eric were talking about. A well-placed thigh punch would make him feel a lot better at that moment.

Josh was about to open his mouth, to say what he wasn't entirely sure yet, when Austin flinched, and Maya reached for her menu again all too casually. "The Peter Jackson may not be horrible," she agreed as Austin switched his mug to his other hand so he could reach down to rub his knee.

He didn't need to ask what Lucas said to the blonde when he leaned over to whisper something in her ear. 'You're going to give yourself away,' the most prominent expression on his face.

"He started it." Maya shifted in her seat to look at Riley. "We will be outnumbered." She pointed out, physically motioning to something on the left side of the menu.

Riley seemed to agree to whatever it was her best friend hadn't said. "But I want pancakes!" The brunette muttered with a twitch of her lip. "And yogurt parfait."

And it had just become apparent that Maya was attempting to bargain for food distribution. "Lucas…" She turned to her other neighbor then, eyes wide. "Don't you want French Toast this morning?"

"I've already had Mama's French Toast." He reminded her, not looking up from his own menu. "Some of us were up before ten . And I'm looking at that steak right there." He pointed down the row to where Cory had already gotten his food, benefits of getting there first.

The blonde huffed, rolling her eyes at her two closest friends. "I'm all alone on Christmas Eve, and no one will share food with me."

A roll appeared out of nowhere, smacking the girl in the head and landing on the appetizer plate in front of her. Josh heard a gruff sound of forced disapproval come from the other side of his mother, and Auggie reached around Lucas to retrieve the bread that Shawn had tossed down the table. "You're too damn old to pout when no one will give you their breakfast." Maya's pseudo-father reprimanded behind a laugh. "Especially since you can't figure out how to ask nicely."

"Are you supposed to be on my side?" Maya's eyes bugged when a plate of the French Toast she'd been trying to negotiate for was dropped in front of him. "Can I-"

"No," he cut her off before taking a huge first bite. "Let this be a lesson to you."

The waitress returned to take the rest of the family's orders, and Maya's lower lip jutted out just a little too much.

"What was it you were planning on giving up for the French Toast?" Josh asked without thinking. Lucas hid his grin behind his glass of milk, and Austin shook his head.

Maya dropped her menu, pointing to the top left. "Part of my ham, bacon, and Swiss omelet." She looked up at the waitress who was now standing to her left. "I'll even skip the Sriracha."

"Trade the bacon for some spinach, and you have yourself a deal." Maya beamed and nodded adamantly to the waitress. "I would like an order and a half of French Toast," because even before their one date he already knew that Maya had a very loose meaning of the word 'share.' "And would it be possible to add some extra bacon to that as well?" If he didn't order it now, Maya would just eat everyone's anyway. He drowned out Shawn's shout of 'traitor' with a nod and a smile to the blonde. "Merry Christmas."

Maya flicked the sleeve of her sweater dress up her forearm, as to not drop it in anything when she reached for her orange juice. The silver DeCarlo Jewelry cuff winked up at him from her wrist as she took a sip.

He hadn't intended to give it to her early. When she'd asked for it before they left the Flea, and he'd refused, Josh's initial plan had been to make her wait until Christmas morning because he knew it would bug her. She'd found the box the night before –after Riley and Will had left and she'd promised them she was right behind, as soon as she figured out what she had done with her damn shoes- and made two separate attempts to get her present early. Josh held back the blush that came with remembering her first 'argument.' He'd never been happier that Austin had gotten a midnight craving for Chinese before in his life.

The second was the argument that there would be too many questions asked if she opened the same present that she had given Riley that day: Why were they both at the Brooklyn Flea together? Why was Josh buying her jewelry? Are they sitting too close together? Was she allowed to hug him to thank him?

In the end, Josh had agreed that she could have the bracelet early in order to keep her from going on about it all night. He refused to let her open her necklace, though. If she was worried about what the Matthews/Hunter clan would think, then she would just have to wait to take ownership of that present until Boxing Day. She'd grumbled that he'd given her a bracelet for her birthday, so a necklace for Christmas shouldn't matter, and then preceded to wear her new sparkly accessory for the rest of the night.

He was smiling stupidly when his food arrived, completely missing half of the argument that Maya was having with Austin over one professor or another, and when he looked up, Lucas just shook his head.

Once upon a time, their roles had been reversed. Josh wasn't entirely sure how much a part of that had changed.

Riley reached over Maya to cut the omelet in two, 'so it would be fair this time', and Maya dropped it on her unused appetizer plate to pass it across the table. "Now gimmie my toast!"

"I'm gonna remember this." He muttered casually, slipping three of the six pieces onto his own spare plate.

Her tongue darted out between her teeth as she slid her prize onto the plate next to her omelet. "You do that."

* * *

After brunch had concluded, Topanga and Amy had decided that they needed to do some last minute shopping and invited Riley and Maya along with them. Lucas had gone too, under the guise of the girls needing someone to hold their bags, and Josh and Austin had volunteered to help his father get settled in the hotel they were going to be in for the week. Cory had argued because that's what Cory Mathews did when his parents were in New York City from Christmas Eve until the day after New Year's and they insisted on staying in a hotel room rather than invade his house, but Alan wouldn't hear of it. Topanga was still lobbying for partner, Auggie was ten now and had his own social calendar, and Riley and Maya would be in and out who knows when doing their own thing. Amy and Alan, while appreciative that their son was willing to open his home, thought it would be much more relaxing for everyone if they had their own space to retreat to at the end of the day.

Josh actually managed to get video of the look on his dad's face when he realized that Eric, Cory, and Shawn had joined up to take care of the bill for the week.

 _That_ was going up on Facebook for all of Alan's buddies to see.

After a late lunch –from one of the street vendors that Austin suggested just down the block from the hotel- they all met back up at the Winter Village at Bryant Park for ice skating. Shawn's camera made an appearance then, and Amy forced them all to take a few family photos, and she included Lucas, Austin, and Will as part of the family –Maya's place never once in question- before they were allowed to rent skates and hit the ice.

While Will stuck close to Riley, who still wasn't the best on skates no matter how much coordination she'd gained as a cheerleader, Maya was all over the place. She led Auggie and Ava around in a train, twirled around Shawn when he'd stepped onto the ice after donning his traction cleats, and dancing around with Lucas and Austin to rocked out Christmas carols.

He was watching her lead Riley around one side of the rink singing along with an old Hanson song when Lucas stepped up beside him on the bench.

"You may want to tone down the staring." The blonde handed him a large paper cup with a lid, with a grin. "As much as I _completely_ get it," he took a sip of his own cup. "That's the quickest way to get caught."

"Advice I never once thought I would have to get from you." Maya stole the hat off of Cory's head as she and Riley passed him, and they all got a laugh when she was forced to abandon her best friend in order to run from him.

Lucas just nodded, taking another long sip of his mug. "How are you holding up?"

A quick sip proved that it was a traditional egg nog, and whoever mixed this batch had been extremely generous with the bourbon. Which begged the question as to where golden boy Lucas Friar had managed to get an alcoholic beverage in the middle of Bryant Park. "Is there a proper way to answer that question?" Another gulp and Josh wondered if it would be possible to acquire more. "My life is a bit more surreal than I thought it could be a month ago." Lucas didn't say anything, which he supposed was probably wise. Despite the fact that there were only four people in the general area that knew it, he and Friar were the only two members of a very exclusive club. He had no idea if it was a good or bad thing. "I mean, it's like I have all the benefits of a girlfriend without any of the responsibilities."

There was a chuckle next to him and Lucas took a sip of his own mug while Maya flounced around Cory again, this time dropping his hat on Ava's head just to watch the girl laugh. "And it's all wrapped in one petite, blonde, bipolar package."

"That part is decidedly less fun." Josh agreed.

A mug was raised in the traditional 'cheers' gesture. "You'll learn."

Maya helped Riley back onto the snow around the rink and both girls started in their direction. "That's not ominous at all."

"You wouldn't be doing it if it weren't worth it." They were within arm's reach when Lucas took hold of Riley's elbow to steady her so she could sit on the bench and then handed Maya the travel carrier with two other paper cups that Josh hadn't noticed. "Pink lid's Riley's." He tossed off when Maya plucked one cup free.

"And where is Sir William?" The blonde took a long sip, which told Josh that she had somehow been the one responsible for the bourbon, and handed the undoctored mug to her best friend.

Lucas gestured somewhere behind him with his head. "I forgot your chocolate babka." He admitted with a lazy grin. "Will is trying to prevent the meltdown you've seemed to convince him is going to happen soon if you don't get it."

"I take my chocolate _very_ seriously." Maya's smile was sly. Will and Riley had been dating for just over a year and a half now, managing to make it through both the end of high school and the beginning of college without the usual new couple drama. He'd been friends with the group since the end of their Freshman year, though, and Maya couldn't help but test his willingness to please his girlfriend by keeping her perpetually semi-single friend happy.

Josh had to take a step back to keep himself from reaching for Maya. Which, of course, was when Lucas seemed to have the exact same idea and wrapped his arms around the blonde from behind, managing to relieve her of her mug so neither one of them lost their eggnog. "You're a horrible, _horrible_ human being." The taller man announced, dropping a kiss to the blonde's head. "You know that right?"

Maya leaned back into him for a moment before turning in his arms, plucking her drink from his hand, and kissing him on the cheek, elegantly dropping onto the bench next to Riley. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Josh spotted Will skirting around children with two paper bags in his arms at the same time Maya did. "I'm fucking delightful," a fortifying sip of her drink and then she smiled. "Aren't I, Bixby?"

The man dropped one bag in Maya's lap and bent to kiss Riley on the top of the head. "Which one of those answers is going to get her to shut up and eat her babka?"

Riley bumped shoulders with her best friend, dropping her head to Maya's shoulder in time for the blonde to shove a huge bite of confection in her mouth. "You're absolutely perfect, Peaches." She opened her mouth then, receiving her own bit of chocolate.

No one bothered to point out that Riley had, rather cleanly, avoided answering his question.

* * *

No matter how many years he'd attended mass at Saint Thomas's Church on Fifth Avenue, Josh would probably never get over the vastness of the building or the sheer grandeur of the architecture. The very first time he'd ever walked inside Maya –who was the brazen seventh grader reintroduced to her as- had asked him if he'd needed a minute alone with himself. The fourth official church of its name, this particular building was designed in 1906 and was built from 1911 to 1913. It was one of the singularly best impressions of Gothic architecture still left in the city.

A hand ran over his shoulder, and Josh leaned into Maya's touch as she dropped her head onto his shoulder for a split second. Then she stepped back and shook her head. "Dude, _every time_ you walk into this building, you look like you don't get laid enough."

His eyes followed the movement of her slipping her wrap from her shoulders to her folding it carefully over her arm. After ice skating Maya, Riley, Will, and Lucas had run off to have dinner with the Minus family –and receive their Christmas presents from the mogul and his wife- while the rest of the family grabbed pizza. Then Topanga had declared that they were to head their separate ways in order to change, and nap his brother threw in quickly, before church. He'd gotten a vaguely artistic photo of the undergarments that Maya was most likely currently sporting, without her in them of course, and hadn't heard a peep from her since.

And if he weren't standing in the nave of a church with almost his entire family milling about somewhere, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from stooping to plant a kiss on her perfect pink grin.

Instead, he just kinked an eyebrow. "Is that a complaint?"

It took Maya longer than Josh thought it would to realize exactly what he was inferring. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and flicked it back out again, eyes scanning the building. It wasn't quite ten thirty yet, so chapel wasn't full, but there were enough parishioners milling about that she had to be careful with her language and tone.

"Observation," she toyed with the open neckline of her long Marilyn collared cable knit sweater, and glanced up at him through her lashes. She swallowed her next sentence, smile bright as she waved to Marissa Duncan, Shawn's next door neighbor. "You are certainly in the right profession."

"If I ask really nicely," he stepped to the closer to her, to allow someone to pass. His hand slid over her hip, between the hem of her corduroy trousers and her skin, and he watched her swallow. "Can I convince you to tell me what it was you were really going to say?"

It really didn't matter that he'd had her in his arms not fifteen hours before. Their 'casual' arrangement had had her in his bed no less than five times in the last two weeks, and Josh really couldn't tell the difference between this and the beginning of any other relationship he'd had in the last three years.

Farkle Minkus picked that particular time to wander through the door, shouting across the room when he didn't see Maya next to Riley. Maya's back stiffened and she took a quick step out of his reach. Across the room, Lucas's eyes darkened. "Please don't sit next to me." She said instead, giving him a smile and a shaky wink as she practically sprinted to her friends.

He hadn't been able to get close to her during Mass to ask her what her last statement had been about. She stayed wedged against Lucas's side from the Gathering to the Dismissal. She'd even held his arm as they waited in line to receive communion. It didn't really strike Josh as odd. Or, at least, he tried not to let it. Maya and Lucas had always been physical people. It didn't matter if either one of them was dating someone else, they always seemed to be touching. And Lucas knew about their current arrangement.

When Cory had invited him and Austin back to the house after the service for a night cap – 'we'll pay for your cab. It's your first Christmas Eve old enough to drink with us'- he almost declined when his roommate had. Then he'd been told that Lucas had already escorted the girls back.

Josh had been naive enough to believe that he could possibly corner Maya and get an explanation. Two steps in the house told him otherwise. Riley was curled up in the bay window in the living room, already in her brand new Snoopy Christmas pajamas, with a book and a mug of hot chocolate.

"Lucas take Maya home?" He didn't sound concerned, did he?

Apparently Riley didn't think so. "They're in my room," she turned a page. "Apparently Maya is having a _thing_."

"A thing?" Shawn dropped his coat on a hook, catching Riley's eye. "Maya okay?"

The brunette was entirely too unruffled over the fact that her best friend was having some sort of issue in her bedroom and didn't seem to want her there. "She's fine," Riley smiled over at Shawn, and it calmed whatever was on edge inside Josh as well. "She has these moments, and he's the only one that can calm her down." Again, there was absolutely no jealousy in Riley's tone. If anything she just looked really tired. "Give him ten minutes and she'll be back here throwing tinsel at people."

Shawn's expression resembled a father who had just been told to leave his daughter and her lover alone in a room for an undetermined amount of time. Josh glossed over the fact that that description was more suitable than he'd thought when he first thought it. When the older man moved to the kitchen to grab himself a drink, everyone else headed to their respective rooms in order to get out of their church clothes, Josh nodded to the hallway. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

No one cared.

Riley's bedroom was the closest to the stairs. It was a fact that had gotten the girls into more trouble than it should have before college. Riley might have run herd on Maya's wild side, but the younger girl couldn't hold her liquor to save her life, and more than once Maya was caught trying to sneak her back into the house.

He supposed it might have been worse had Maya not been there to rush to inform the Matthews that Riley had had _maybe_ a beer and a half and that she took full responsibility for the girl until she was hangover free.

"I fucking _hate_ this." Maya's voice cut through whatever his next thought would have been, and Josh hated the fact that he was halfway up the stairs before he registered it.

Josh had been expecting a plethora of responses to come from Lucas's mouth. "Yeah, well it's your own damn fault," was nowhere near the top of that list. He could hear the younger man cross the room. With the door only open a crack, Josh couldn't see Maya where he knew she sat at the bay window, but he could tell when Lucas plopped down next to her.

"Can I have Riley back now?" It appeared Maya was expecting more sympathy than she received as well.

"You gonna explain to her why you almost had a panic attack during church?" Maya said nothing. "No." There was the sound of someone adjusting, and Josh took another step towards the door. If he pushed himself up against the wall, he might be able to make out something in the crack.

Maya sniffled, and Josh could picture her running her pinky fingers under her eyes to make sure she didn't smudge her mascara. "I was perfectly fine all day today."

Some more shuffling and Lucas's voice was softer. "Then what happened?"

"I may not be in front of this anymore." She admitted with another sniffle. Josh's curiosity got the best of him, and he pressed his nose to the doorjamb in order to catch a glimpse of the two seated on the bench of the bay window.

He'd caught Maya in more than one compromising position in the years that he'd known her. There had been parties, movie nights, and yes, he'd even forgotten to knock once when telling her it was time for food during a family gathering at Shawn's once. But there was something insanely more intimate about her and Lucas's position during what was supposed to be an actual innocent conversation.

The man in question was spread out across the seat. His back was propped up against the thick wood of one of the window frames, legs stretched out to the other side of the seat. Maya was straddling his legs, entire body pulled into a tight ball with her forehead resting against his clavicle. Lucas's suit jacket had been in the living room when they'd passed through, tie stuffed in the breast pocket. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and Maya took a deep inhale of his chest. From his angle, Josh could see that one of Lucas's hands was running up and down Maya's back. He had no idea where the other one was.

Lucas dropped his lips to the crown of Maya's head and repeated, "Then what happened?"

He didn't catch Maya's answer, muffled in the younger man's shirt, but Lucas smiled sadly.

"When not if," he muttered to himself, kissing her on the head again. "I already know the answer to this question," Lucas's tone was flippant, "But I'm gonna ask it anyway. Have you tried talking to _him_ about this?" Maya muttered something else. "Yeah, because learning that you've got insecurities is the biggest turn off _ever_. Maya, you used to dream of being in this exact predicament."

"Thirteen-year-old Maya never once dreamed that she'd actually be in _this_ position." She corrected him sharply, sitting up enough to look Lucas in the eye. "Thirteen-year-old Maya used to dream of holding hands, and being taken to movies when our hands would brush in the popcorn bucket and things _could_ happen, and sweet kisses good night." Her forehead thumped back to his chest. "The prospect of fighting the urge to mount… _anyone_ in Saint Thomas's before Christmas Eve service would never have even crossed her mind."

"And if you were sleeping with _anyone_ else," Lucas probably didn't realize he was saying this aloud. "Riley would be sitting here having this conversation instead of me." She thumped him again, this time deliberately. "You have feelings, Maya." Lucas ran a hand down her back to her hip, pulling her forward so she had to sit up. "It's not news."

She sat up again, arms crossing against her chest so she could glare at him.

"And here's another bit of info for you," Lucas didn't seem the least bit perturbed. "You had these feeling _before_ you started sleeping with him." Maya rolled her eyes. "If you hadn't you never would have wound up in his bed." There was something else that Lucas was trying not to say, Josh could tell from the way his lips tightened carefully when Maya's own opened for a rebuttal. "Not this time, Shortstack." His put his hand over her mouth and Josh could feel himself smile. "You're not a robot, and for the bulk of your waking hours, you're not a raging psychotic either. You started something, and you like it, and that terrifies you. But I'm not going to let you use me to talk yourself out of it."

"I almost had a panic attack at Midnight Mass because he touched me." There was no expression on Maya's face. That probably scared Josh more than her words did.

"You almost had a panic attack at Midnight Mass because you decided you need to hide how you felt about him touching you." Lucas corrected.

Maya's eyes went wide. "I'm not telling Riley." She was adamant now. "I don't know what the hell this is, or how I lost hold of it, but if I tell Riley, and this gets fucked up, then I'm gonna lose her too, and I can't take that. I can't start over, Luke. Not without her."

He brought his arms up around her again, pulling her back to his chest. "I don't think it's gonna end the way you think it will." He whispered into her hair. Lucas pressed his lips to her ear, said something else Josh couldn't catch and kissed her again. "Look, I'm not advocating that you change your current arrangement." He waited until Maya had stopped sniffling and smiled down at her. "Whatever you two are doesn't need a label, and you can say there are no strings attached and that you can walk away at any time if it really makes you feel better." Maya's shoulders dropped even though Josh felt like he had just been punched in the chest. "But you like him, and he likes you, and _you_ pretending that neither one of you are allowed to like each other is going to fuck this up faster than anything else can."

Whatever Maya was going to say was cut off by Lucas's phone going off.

He didn't reach for it. Whoever belonged to the dueling banjos text tone could obviously wait. "Have fun, be safe," her eyes rolled again and Lucas smiled. "Go on another date, sneak a kiss under the mistletoe –I can probably talk Riley into setting that up for you- just _stop_ trying to control it." A door closed and Josh tried to smile as Auggie obliviously hopped down the hall. "Let this be your Christmas present to me."

"I already gave you your present." Maya began to unfold herself, keeping an arm around Lucas's shoulders.

His smile shifted, from one of careful concern to a playful grin. "Yeah," he agreed. "But it wasn't quite on par with what you gave me last year." Josh could only imagine what Lucas received from the blonde the year before. Especially with the faint blush that graced Maya's cheeks. "So I'm asking for an upgrade."

"Next year you're getting coal, Friar." She may have swatted at him, but it carried absolutely none of the vitriol it could have.

Lucas's phone chimed again and since he had at least one hand free he could actually reach for it this time. "Don't tease me," he smirked. "That's Mama again, I actually have to get going." He texted something back and opened the one app or another on his phone. "And I don't care what you do between now and tonight," he must have realized that it was almost one in the morning now. Their post-Christmas movie adventure was less time away than they realized. "I'm not sitting through another chick flick. It doesn't matter if you manage to outvote us."

Maya ran her pinkies under her eyes and smiled. "Yeah you would."

When he bent to kiss her head, Maya looked up, and between one motion and the next, Lucas wound up dropping a chaste kiss to her lips. Neither looked surprised and Lucas just shook his head. "I'm gonna tell Riley to give you a minute. Would you please give her some sort of abridged version of this so she doesn't think you and I are fighting?"

Maya nodded, reaching for the zipper on her boots. She was spending the night with Riley so they could all open presents together, and she couldn't very well drink her first hot chocolate of Christmas Day in her church clothes. "I'll come up with something." She agreed.

"No lying." Lucas muttered, pointing at her as he made his way over to the door.

The blonde's eyes rolled, turning toward Riley's closet and pulling her sweater over her head.

Josh didn't even think about the fact that all he'd managed to do was take a step back, slamming into the wall on the other side of the hallway.

Then again, as Lucas slid out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him, he didn't seem surprised to know that they had had an audience. "She likes you." He said after a second, giving Josh the weariest once over he thought he'd ever had.

The older man nodded. "I'm rather fond of her too."

Lucas's grin was back. "She's going to have these moments. Don't push too hard."

And apparently they were back to being cryptic with each another.

"But don't let her run?" Josh cracked an eyebrow, trying to appear as nonchalant as the younger man. It most likely was not working.

Lucas just nodded and left him alone in the hall.

Which was probably why when the bedroom door popped open again, Josh was still standing in the exact same spot he'd been in for the last ten minutes.

Thankfully Maya's shock lasted just long enough for her to reach out and grab his hand, pulling him into Riley's bedroom by his wrist. He didn't fight her on it, even when the door thudded shut behind him and she stepped back to readjust the robe that was gaping open over her plaid flannel pj pants and tank top that read 'professional mistletoe tester'.

Then his back was pressed against the door and Maya's lips were on his, before pulling him forwards until she was almost horizontal on Riley's bed and he was on top of her. While desecrating his niece's room was not something Josh was actually considering, after her walking away from him in the cathedral, and the conversation he just overheard, Maya's response was not unwelcome.

"I owe you that," she whispered against his lips when they parted. She bit the side of her lips as he took a deep breath, eyes searching his for something he couldn't name.

Josh dropped a kiss to her nose just to watch her eyes close. "You don't owe me anything," he whispered. And it was true. Even if he hadn't been party to the conversation that had taken place just minutes before, Josh wouldn't have asked Maya for anything that she wasn't ready to give. He was perfectly fine letting their relationship do whatever it was going to do and deal with it as it came. Maya was Maya, and Josh didn't expect her to change anything for him.

She didn't respond for a long moment, before winding her hand back up his shoulder and pulling him down for another kiss. Her entire body melted into his, and Josh had to brace himself against the comforter to make sure that he didn't lose sight of where they were and the fact that the only thing that separated them from the rest of his family was Riley's bedroom door. Her tongue slipped past his lips, and Josh blinked as his hand gripped her hip, both aiding her in shifting up to meet him and trying to reduce the motion all at the same time.

He wasn't dumb enough to ask what had gotten into her. Lucas telling her to stop trying to control it ran passed the back of his mind, and Josh actually pulled her up to him then.

Maya broke the kiss just to groan.

"Are you staying here tonight?" blonde hair fanned out against the comforter as Maya let her head drop back.

Josh grinned, "I don't think that would be the best idea ever."

"Give me a minute, I think I can come up with a worse one." Josh released the tension in his hand, her hips hitting the bed at the same time his head plopped onto her shoulder. He could feel her chuckle when his lips found the same spot from the morning. "I'm sorry, for earlier."

Eyes wide, Josh pulled his head up to face her. "You did something earlier you need to apologize for?"

Maya licked his forehead. "I'm trying to be mature here, ass hole."

He had to brace himself on the bed again to keep from crushing her as he laughed. Josh used that as a good enough reason to roll off of her, dropping onto his back beside her. "Riley's gonna come looking for you soon." He left off the part where he was supposed to be using the bathroom. "Especially if Lucas left."

Bouncing up onto her elbows, Maya shook her head. "You just have to be the adultier adult, don't you?"

Cory shouted something below them that sounded suspiciously like a command that Auggie stop throwing tinsel. "It's genetic." Josh leveraged himself into a sitting position, pulling the hem of Maya's tank top down to cover her stomach. "One of us needs to leave this room before we're caught." He adjusted his slacks and shook his head. "I'd be appreciative if it were you." Maya giggled. "I may need a minute."

She was quicker than he was, making it all the way to her feet in one motion. "Only because it's Christmas." Maya spun, bracing her hands on his shoulders and leaning in to kiss his nose. "However, if you take too long," she took a step back and ran a hand through her hair. "I will not be responsible for the jokes I start at your expense."

"Sounds fair."

Josh didn't watch Maya slip out of the room, leaving the door open. He heard her join the others below him, though, apparently pouncing on Riley and demanding that she get to open a present early for good behavior at church. He couldn't help chuckling to himself when she squealed, wondering if she'd noticed that there were two presents under the tree from him this year instead of the one she'd watched him purchase. He'd have to remember to find a way to tell Riley about their shopping trip, his niece would appreciate the subterfuge.

There had been no noise in the hallway before Amy appeared, leaning against the jamb watching her son run a hand over his head. Josh didn't see the way her arms came up to her chest, wrap fluttering around her blouse. She managed to catch his eye when he shook his next thought out of his mind, though, smiling down at him.

"Is everything okay, sweetie?"

Josh shook his head again. "Amazingly enough, yes."

His mother met him halfway to the door, enveloping him in the type of hug that he couldn't remember indulging her in in years. Despite the fact that he was now taller than she was, she still tucked him under her chin, kissing his temple. "Are you sure?" Another kiss. "You look tired."

"I'm exhausted," he confirmed, allowing her to rock him for a moment. "But for all the right reasons." He didn't tell her that one of the reasons was currently belting out Here Comes Santa Clause at the top of her lungs, taking a break every other line to bellow for the people that weren't downstairs because Cory had given in to her demand to open another gift.

Josh also didn't see the sad smile that crossed Amy's face when she glanced down at his face when her son snickered at Maya referring to the two of them as 'Ma' and 'Uncle Boing' when the blonde had noticed they were the only two people they were lacking. "You don't get to go home until I have a new something shiny!" Josh couldn't hold back his laughter now, standing up to his full height and kissing his mother on the forehead.

"How much chocolate do you think she and Riley put in their cocoa?" Amy's face lit up with his smile.

He flipped the light switch off as they stepped out into the hall. "Enough to make me glad I'm not sleeping here tonight." Josh cast one last look at the bed before he allowed his mother to lead him down the stairs. "Waking up to Maya tomorrow's gonna be hell."

Amy paused as Josh stepped past her and bounced down the stairs. He threw himself on the couch on top of Riley, his feet landing in Maya's lap effectively trapping them both, and for the briefest moments, he thought he could see his mother wipe her eyes before joining them.

* * *

Okay readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I am still working on the 8tracks for this (a large part of that is creating the album covers). If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

Coming Soon:

There was a pause as the brunette beside Josh swallowed a few times. " _Lucas_ is supposed to be talking you into Italy." Riley's eyes were wide, and Josh wondered just how much longer she had until she completely blew her lid. "Where the hell did karaoke come in?"


	24. Part XV: La Vie Boheme

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,567  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either. In this chapter there are many references to songs. The only song where lyrics are given is Relapse by Carrie Underwood. The rest of the songs are listed at the end of the chapter. I own the rights to none of them.

* * *

By some miracle of God, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill didn't require their interns to return to the office until they returned for the next semester. It was possible that it was because one or two of the students Josh worked with were International students, and they were trying to make sure that everyone got time with their family. The office was also closed from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, so that made it easier. While that didn't stop Josh from calling and checking in –and helping with a permit problem that had arisen when one of his fellow interns had left early for winter break- it allowed him to forget responsibilities for a little while, focusing on his friends and his family.

With Amy, Josh goes shopping. They wander more than actually spend money. He tells her that he's put in a bid on the apartment in SoHo, and she immediately begins planning what kind of couch he's going to need because the one they're currently using in the apartment is Austin's. He doesn't tell her about the cart Maya's picked out. But she catches on that he has his own designs when she tries to talk him into a wrought iron coffee table like the one Shawn has. She also insisted on taking him to Nordstrom and Saks, and all the clothing stores he generally avoided really, to help add to his wardrobe because 'you've worn the same t-shirt three times in the last week'. It didn't matter that he didn't have to dress up for the office and the shirt was comfortable.

Alan is much more laid back. He and Josh toured a couple of museums –while Amy takes time for her granddaughter and Maya- and grab a beer at Bar Seven Five. They talk about the possibility of Josh staying in New York after graduation, and that he's got an interview in February for the position open at his firm, and another in March at one of S.O.M.'s competitors if the first doesn't pan out. His father is full of all sorts of wisdom, paying for almost everything because 'I remember college son, and you're going to need all the money you make'.

Both parent mentions the fact that he's essentially been single since the previous summer.

Amy couples it more than once with anecdotes about how even Eric has started seeing someone in D.C. and she _should_ have more grandchildren by now.

Maya spits a stolen sip of beer she was attempting to swallow all over Shawn's kitchen counter at that one. It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that Will announced half a second after –and rather loudly- that Amy couldn't expect any great grand-kids from him and Riley until he'd finished his residency; Amy almost cried.

Shawn regulated Maya to water for the rest of the night in retribution of the counter.

New Year's Eve found him at another Minkus party.

Despite what had been tossed around the year before, they weren't actually physically on the Hudson River this year. An unexpected snow prevented that. A last second hustle found them instead at the in the loft space of the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, a unique waterfront venue that provided an almost 360-degree view of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty. Originally a nautical motif, he'd been forced into La Rukico for his very first custom tuxedo the day Farkle sent out a mass text that his mother had changed her mind -along with the venue- and the new theme was 'Masks and Midnight.'

Josh hadn't minded the change. Because that meant that Riley was able to flit about as the perfect picture of a gothic Disney princess in her gold cap-sleeved ball gown, hair draped over her shoulder in a braid to rival Rapunzel's. Josh had no idea how she moved around in that much silk and taffeta, but his niece managed. Her best friend managed a different kind of princess in her gold and crystal embellished A-line gown, complete with a deep V-neck and overflowing chiffon skirt. She'd apparently designed her metal vine and lace masquerade mask herself, which didn't seem odd at all at the time. Her amazingly tanned skin was strategically highlighted with golden body glitter that Josh found in his bed for weeks later, no matter how many times his sheets were washed.

He still had no idea how she'd managed to celebrate the chiming of the New Year in the middle of the room with her friends, and still slip him the dirtiest kiss he'd ever received in public without anyone questioning her. Farkle forwarded him a copy of one of the pictures of said kiss three days later, 'Happy New Year' in the subject line.

No one mentioned it after. Except Austin.

He's still not sure how he managed to have Maya in his bed more nights than not during his time off, especially since she spent her days almost physically attached to Riley's hip as they re-explored the city, and their friendship, that had seemed to evolve while the girls were focused on their studies. Josh is pretty sure that he had Lucas to thank for it somehow. There's also the vague notion that Austin has teamed up with the blonde. Josh's pretty sure Maya now has a key. This theory is almost proven more than once when she climbs into bed with him far later than Josh knows his roommate would willingly get out of his own to answer the door. She's yet to leave any more of her own clothing at his place, and he refuses to snoop through her bag to prove a point.

There are bottles of her shampoo and conditioner hidden under his bathroom sink, though, and Josh can't seem to escape the faint cinnamon scent that he's discovered came from her body wash. He doesn't mention either of those things to anyone. Especially after he takes notes of their brands and makes it a point to add them to the grocery list he keeps on his phone.

He plays pool at the student union with Austin and Christian at least twice a week, takes his brother and nephew to lunch on weekends and sees movies with his niece and her friends. Farkle has apparently discovered group karaoke while on the West Coast, and on more than one occasion he's invited out to watch them all battle it out to see who could give the most dramatic rendition of Ed Sheeran ballads.

Amazingly enough, Will seems to dominate that category.

The subject of the group's next school break together is broached twice. The first time was when Riley and Farkle were coming up with their dream destinations. While Maya hopes for someplace warm –preferably with a beach- the two academics scour historical sites. They debate England and Scotland versus Paris and Rome, and the possibility of visiting Ireland. Lucas stays out of it completely, knowing that anywhere with his friends is good enough for him.

* * *

Then comes the afternoon where Riley announces to Maya that they've made a decision. The girl had absolutely no tact when she blurted out the chosen destination one afternoon the three of them are lazily watching movies at his brother's house. Josh had been told a few days before when Riley brought it up with her mother while Maya and Katy had a night out.

Naturally Maya's face goes blank. She'd been hoping for something stateside, possibly within driving distance for financial reasons. Her shock didn't wear off just because Riley's smile is bright, and her arms were still up in the air from gesticulating.

"We're going _where_?"

There was a pause as Riley tried to deduce whether or not she was being asked to repeat herself because Maya hadn't heard her.

"Italy." The word was drawn out carefully, three syllables sounding individual. "Rome! Venice! Florence! Where the history comes from!" She flopped herself back onto the couch, arms outstretched. "It's going to be _magical_!"

"Are you insane?" From her perch at the kitchen table, Maya tried her hardest not to start screaming. "I could barely afford Paris with six months' notice and a scholarship. There's no way I'm getting the cash together for Italy in three months." Even with discount airfare and a group rate, she was still staring down the barrel of a couple grand, minimum. "And if you even mention I ask Shawn," she pointed across the room to her best friend. "I'll kick your ass."

Josh couldn't decide whether or not this was the right time to remind them both that he was still in the room. The blonde ran a hand through her hair, eyes catching his for the briefest moment.

Riley was on her feet now, her joy at the thought of spending nine days abroad diminishing by the second as she saw her best friend's distress. "No Shawn." She made it across the room with a quick skip, perching herself on the landing in front of her best friend. "Farkle, Isadora and I have been talking about this for weeks, and Mr. Minkus says that he'll cover travel. Maya, all you have to do is say 'yes'."

"No." The blonde was emphatic now, dropping her hands to her friend's shoulder. "Italy sounds fun, but I know what that kind of thing costs, and I'm not going to ask anyone to pay that for me."

"You didn't ask!" Riley threw her hands in the air and took a step back. Josh could see her brown eyes darken for a fraction of a second. Despite the last few weeks, she and Maya had spent more time apart in the last six months than they had together, and the fact that Maya wasn't jumping at this trip was starting to vex her. "Farkle mentioned what he wanted to do, and Mr. Minkus offered."

Maya's hand tugged at her roots and she flipped the portion of hair not in her hand over her shoulder. "Because that's so much better." Her tone brooked no argument on the fact that her stance hadn't changed.

" _UGH_!" Riley's hands came up again and she spun on her heel. "For once can't you just accept that people are trying to do something nice for you?"

At this point, Josh couldn't afford not to intervene. "Riles?" He pulled himself from the chair and caught his niece's arm. "Take a breath." He wasn't stupid enough to actually look at Maya.

"I'm calling Lucas!" The brunette shouted, wrenching her arm free and storming to the stairs.

Maya took a quick, calming breath and dropped her chin to her chest.

"She doesn't get it." Josh took a moment to listen to the rest of the house before reaching for a hand and pulling her to his chest. "The only thing Riley sees is that you guys have a way to have an epic first Spring Break."

"It's a seven-person trip to Italy," Maya twisted in his arms so she could drop her chin onto the forearm holding her. "That's not going to be cheap."

"Eight," Josh corrected gently. He watched as Maya attempted the headcount without using her hands. She got to seven, backtracked, and started again. Josh waited for her to mouth the names of all of her friends a second time before he couldn't hold back his smile. "I've been invited too." He announced, dropping his voice again. "Apparently, Lucas mentioned the trip around Cor and he refused to let Riley go without an 'adultier adult.'" He wasn't sure if it had been a conscious effort on the cowboy's part. Then again, he could have just had bad timing. Cory was unpredictable about what he freaked out about nowadays.

The blonde in his arms hadn't so much as moved.

"And if it helps, I think Isadora's parents are footing her bill."

It didn't, he could see it in the wrinkle on her forehead. The good news was that her eyes had softened a touch.

"They're gonna try to pay for everything." Riley's voice could be heard above them, squealing into her phone. Briefly, Josh wondered what kind of advice Friar was offering to her.

He took comfort in knowing that one well-placed text message would save Maya from having to have this conversation again. "They would no matter where you went." He reminded her. Josh wished he could get away with telling her that it had nothing to do with her personally. Riley was the daughter of a high-powered lawyer, Lucas the grandson of an oil tycoon. Will's entire family were doctors, Zay's father worked with Lucas's dad on Wall Street, and Farkle was a Minkus. And _none_ of them were taught the typical cultural stereotypes. Maya was their friend and they wanted her to join them on their Spring Break. Since she couldn't afford it herself, they found a way around it. It wasn't their fault she was so damn stubborn. "At least this way you can control it somewhat."

"Leave it to you to be so damn logical."

Josh dropped a quick kiss to the back of her head. "That's not why you started sleeping with me?"

Maya's retort was lost when Riley's voice started getting closer and the blonde was forced to take three steps away from him.

"Lucas wants to talk to you!" The brunette thrust her phone out and turned to Josh once Maya had taken it, retreating to the other side of the kitchen. "Why does she have to be so difficult?"

"She's not," Josh bopped Riley on the nose with a finger, shaking his head at her. "And you know it." Riley rolled her eyes at him and he grinned. "How much of that tantrum was because you didn't want to be the one to fight with her on this?"

Having been caught, Riley cast a quick glance over to her best friend. "Lucas just handles this stuff better." She said after a second. "He's more diplomatic."

"That's the kind of shit your dad used to do with Shawn." He kissed her forehead and then it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Only I'm pretty sure he threw your mother at him."

They both seemed to envision Cory launching his wife out of a cannon at the exact same time and Josh realized that they had the same laugh.

"I thought she'd jump all over this," Riley admitted when the laughter died down. Maya was standing by the kitchen sink, facing away from them, and the brunette hadn't really taken her eyes off of her. "She loved Paris. Why wouldn't she want to go to Italy?"

"She's an 'inner-city scholarship kid'." Josh would never tell his niece that that was a direct quote from the girl herself, but it seemed to fit in this situation. "She was raised to see money differently than you guys do." Beside him, Riley just nodded.

A laugh erupted from the kitchen and Riley's eyes lit up as her best friend turned around.

Maya had her own phone in one hand, and Riley's still pressed to her ear when she wandered back over to the living room's bay window. "Farkle's decided he wants to do karaoke tonight," she announced without looking up from whatever was on her phone. Another few taps and she mumbled the affirmative to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "I was going to invite Ali and Chris, you two want in?"

There was a pause as the brunette beside Josh swallowed a few times. " _Lucas_ is supposed to be talking you into Italy." Riley's eyes were wide, and Josh wondered just how much longer she had until she completely blew her lid. "Where the hell did karaoke come in?"

"I got a text from Minkus," Maya shook her head as to announce that the first crisis was over, and she'd moved on. "We're gonna reserve room seven at KD's, do you want to come?"

Josh wondered if it would have helped if he'd told his niece that he'd already talked Maya into it before she'd been put on the phone with the Texan. "What's the occupancy limit?" His phone was out of his pocket, text screen open. If they had the room Austin would probably join them. They would never get the mic out of his hand, but Austin would be there.

"Twenty-five," Maya tapped something else out on her phone and smiled at him. The size of the room had more to do with the fact that Farkle knew Isadora had an issue with poorly lit enclosed areas. Young Minkus would rather pay extra to see to the comfort of his long-time girlfriend then worry about her not having fun. Josh couldn't say that he disagreed. "We've got seven already, nine if Riley and Will are coming…" She left that sentence open ended in hopes that the girl in question would chime in at any point. "Austin in?"

"Asking now," he tapped out the message and hit send.

"What time's the reservation?" The question was directed to whoever Maya was on the phone with, Josh smiled when she rolled her eyes. "I'm in sweatpants and a hoodie, Bucky." She was talking to Lucas. "I need a change of clothes, if not a shower."

Riley still hadn't spoken.

"Can you text Bixby?" Maya sighed, she pocketed her phone and shook her head. "I think I broke Riley," Lucas said something, and Maya laughed. "We can be there by six," a quick look to Josh confirmed it. "We can take a food order when we get there. But I'm telling you now I'm voting for O'Reilly's." Maya didn't say anything else as she pulled the phone from her ear and hit the end button, holding the device out for Riley.

The brunette blinked.

Instead of the sarcastic comment that Josh knew Maya wanted to say, the blonde stepped up to the bay window and slid the phone into Riley's hoodie pouch.

"To recap for our studio audience," because apparently Maya couldn't hold her tongue for that long. She'd slung her arm over her best friend's shoulder and leaned in next to her cheek. "After Riley stormed out of the room, Josh explained to Maya that she was being unreasonable and that Stuart Minkus was going to pay for the trip to Italy whether she said yes or not." Riley's eyes moved from Maya to her uncle. "Maya, in a rare moment of maturity, agreed with him and the second she got on the phone with the Huckleberry, she informed him that she was going to suck it up and take the trip that's been offered."

Josh watched as his niece's eyes brightened and a smile began to emerge.

"Post hoc, ergo propter hoc," which definitely didn't mean what Maya thought it meant, "Maya will be joining her best friends as they traipse around Italy in March, and we're all going to sing karaoke tonight."

Riley's shoulders appeared to have started vibrating. Maya dropped her arm as the brunette turned, an insane smile on her lips. She probably would have taken a step back if Riley's gaze wasn't trained on her. A step forward, and Riley was physically shaking as she bounced in the air.

" _YAY_!"

The brunette threw herself at her best friend, hopping and swaying as she clutched Maya in her arms. While he could no longer see his niece's face, the smile on Maya's made the entire ordeal worth it. She was going to get to go to Italy for nine days with six of her nearest and dearest friends, Riley was ecstatic, and –not that he could tell whether or not this mattered to her- Josh would get to spend a few completely stress-free days out of the city with the woman he desperately hoped would allow him to refer to her as his girlfriend one day.

Maya winked at him as Riley rocked her around.

So maybe she agreed with part of that last statement.

"Okay," trying to extract herself from the longest hug ever seemed to be a little more than Maya could handle on her own. "Okay," she tried again. "Riley!" The brunette backed up a step, not quite letting her go. "In order to be up town in two hours, we _both_ need a change of clothes."

Something clicked in Riley's head and she nodded. "And I have to call Will." Her phone was in her hand now. "Should we just meet you there?"

Because of course it was concluded that nothing Maya currently had with her in the apartment would suffice for karaoke night.

Riley already had her phone to her ear when Maya nodded. "We'll meet you there," she agreed. Maya popped up to kiss her friend's cheek before Riley took off up the stairs. "I think you were just volunteered to take me home." The blonde commented off-handedly as Riley squealed above them.

"You want to at least throw a pair of jeans on?"

Maya glanced down at her yoga pants and shook her head. "Topanga stole them to wash," Josh wondered if her smile had more to do with the fact that she was almost nineteen years old and his sister-in-law still insisted on mothering her. "We can just grab a cab and I won't have to worry about anyone seeing me."

Josh nodded along with her. "Grab a cab?" He questioned as he backtracked to his jacket. "And which one of us will be paying for this extravagance?"

Maya stepped up to him, grabbing the lapels of the jacket he'd just finished putting on and pulling him close. "Are you telling me I'm not worth the price of a taxi?"

He didn't respond at first. More so because Riley was still squealing above them, the rest of the family was out at their respective places of business and higher learning, and he couldn't resist catching her mouth with his. Maya was expecting it, immediately slipping her tongue between his lips and using the short hair on the back of his neck to pull him deeper. He lost track of time with that kiss, allowing Maya to take the lead. When the need to breathe finally won out, Josh brushed his bottom lip over hers. "You're worth a hell of a lot more than one cab ride." He whispered against her jawline.

The look that crossed Maya's face was one that Josh still wasn't able to read. Her eyes darkened, and she swallowed twice before rebooting herself, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

They didn't have time for Josh to ravage her again, and his brother's living room certainly wasn't the place. So Josh cupped her cheek in his hand, bending to kiss the bridge of her nose. "Only the gorgeous ones." Maya licked her lips, and Josh reached into his jacket to palm his wallet. "Now let's go put some clothes on you."

* * *

"You look like you just _thoroughly_ enjoyed some!"

It was officially physically impossible for Austin Mathias the keep his mouth shut. Josh had a vague idea to mark this date on a calendar and print out a certificate. He was able to be just a little bit grateful that the only people who had heard his verbal diarrhea had been Lucas –who was entering the building a few steps behind Josh himself- and Christian. The latter merely cocked an eyebrow at the two friends. Maya had skipped ahead into the building while he'd paid the second cabbie in order to try to force a consensus on where they should order dinner from. He knew from her half of a text message conversation that since it had taken them twice as long as it should have for her to change her clothes Riley and the rest of the crew were already waiting for them.

"Maya agreed to Italy," he said instead of the string of expletives that he was currently thinking.

Raising an eyebrow, Austin's smirk only got bigger. "Am I allowed to guess how you talked her into that one?" His roommate gave him a suggestive wink and Lucas choked on air in front of them, Christian still a little too close to the three men for Josh's comfort.

"No." Josh's voice was firm, and he could see Lucas try to hold back his smirk. "If you feel like it, you _can_ wonder how long it'll take after I tell her about this conversation before Maya kicks your ass."

Austin shook his head, dropping back a step. "You're a dick." His roommate muttered. "It's taken you almost a year to grow a pair and finally get with Maya, and I'm the one getting my ass threatened because I'm happy for you." Neither Christian nor Lucas's step faltered, and Josh was suddenly incredibly grateful that, even though his mouth didn't stop, Austin at least understood discretion and dropped his voice.

"A year?" Josh fell into step beside Austin, eyebrow cocked inquisitively.

The other man just shook his head. "You've had your head in the clouds since she kissed you last New Year's." Austin had heard about the moment second-hand; Ali had squealed about it the second she got the Atlanta native on the phone. Josh's only saving grace had been the fact that his date had been making yet another bathroom trip and didn't have to hear Ali's recount of the ten seconds Maya had graced him with that evening.

"She was _seventeen_ ," Josh defended himself. Yes, the three-year gap seemed smaller the closer she got to her majority, but Josh wasn't too keen on the idea that he'd been after her before then. "My head was _nowhere_ it shouldn't have been."

"Can you unclench please?" Austin had a hand on the door that had shut behind the other men, eyes on his friend. "I'm just sayin' that Maya's been under your skin for years." Another breath and Austin nodded. "And you finally admitting that looks really good on you."

Josh nodded, finally understanding what Austin was trying to say. "Then do me a favor and tone it down tonight."

A quick zip of his lips and Austin popped open the door to the private karaoke room.

"Matthews," Ali was on her feet in a second, practically running across the room to get to him. Josh accepted her hug with one arm, his eyes already across the room where Maya and Farkle were going over something on Isadora's iPad. "Are you aware you have sex hair?"

He took a step back just to run his hand over his face. "It may have been mentioned in the last five minutes." He didn't look at Austin, who had suddenly decided that Riley's braid demanded some serious investigation.

Allie seemed to understand that something shouldn't have been said. "I don't mean you look _bad_ ," she tried to backtrack. "Just-"

"I was overruled!" Maya called out from the other side of the room, saving him from whatever it was that Allie was going to say next. "Smackle wants Playwright Tavern."

Josh had to force the smirk off of his face the second it appeared. He wasn't entirely sure what the announcement meant to him, other than he was now somewhat grateful that he and Maya had taken the extra time to themselves before she'd gotten dressed. There was also the fact that if Farkle was catering to his girlfriend for the night, Josh may not have to pay for his and the girl's dinners. Not that he had a problem with that. Cory generally paid him back when he was aware, and it gave him a decent amount of satisfaction to be in the position to where he could treat Maya like his girlfriend without anyone suspecting anything. But he was officially going to Italy in three months, and he'd save money where he could.

"So you get chocolate mousse with your shepherd's pie," he threw out, shrugging off his jacket. "I'm not understanding your problem with this." Beside Maya, Lucas was smacked in the shoulder for agreeing with him.

In the end, Farkle ordered her dinner for her as she argued with Will and Isadora over who got the microphone first.

Which started an hour and a half of show tunes.

Lucas finally ended that while Christian and Josh went to get everyone more drinks, selecting an old Jason Aldean songs from the list and not minding in the least when Riley and Ali decided that they going to become his background singers. Then it became a contest on who could out country the Texan.

"I ain't hung up on you." Maya backed herself up against Zay, hips swaying to the guitar backtrack. "I ain't in love with you. This is just time that I'm wasting!" She flipped her hair over her shoulder, directly into the man's face, and then stepped away, circling the group to choose her next victim. "One or two little sips; I'm all right, I can quit." Her grin was huge when she came toe to toe with Lucas. He moved in time with her, his hand dropping to her hip as hers stroked his cheek. "You're just some wine that I'm tasting!"

The entire group hooted and hollered when she leaned in as if to kiss him, turning her head as the beat kicked up, offering him her cheek.

She stole Austin's beer on her way back to her seat, landing next to Josh with a self-satisfied smirk on her face when the song faded out. The man in question whistling low and pantomiming removing a hat.

"I think Maya just won." It was Ali who spoke, halfway through a sip of her martini. The challenge had been for classic country songs, and Maya may not have been the only one to pull out a Carrie Underwood song, she had definitely gotten into it more.

Austin tossed a bottle of water in Zay's direction. He fumbled it, which earned him more than a few laughs, and Christian shook his head. "I think Zay needs a cold shower."

"He's not the only one," Riley fanned herself. They had all known they were in for it when Maya had opted to go last during this particular set. She'd started the song by unbuttoning her flannel overshirt and tossing it in the brunette's direction, adjusting her white camisole over her belt.

The blonde just tossed the mic across the long booth to Farkle, who checked the list they had started to see who was up.

A noise of protest escaped Will's mouth, the man knowing he was next. "Do you honestly think anyone wants to go after that?"

Even if he agreed, there was nothing Farkle could do about it. "Rules are rules." He decided, checking the list again. "Either take your turn or move to the end of the line."

"Evil!" Will stage whispered across the room, pointing his microphone in Maya's direction. The blonde rolled her eyes as Farkle input whatever track number Will had chosen.

Maya handed Austin his beer back, grabbing the basket of fries Christian seemed to pull from nowhere at the round table he shared with his girlfriend, and smiled. "Put me back down." She instructed Farkle as Will crooned to his girlfriend. They were sickeningly cute, and Maya rolled her eyes when the genius handed her the iPad so she could pick a new song.

She had typed in 'Jonas' as Josh propped his head on her shoulder to get a glimpse. "I think I need another drink." He announced when she started humming along with Will, her hips swaying a little in her seat. "Did you want something?"

Blue eyes cut to Farkle's list, gauging how many people were in front of her. "I'll just come with." Maya decided, setting the tablet back on the table. "We're after Chris, right?" She was looking at Austin, who held up his beer as if to say that Josh owed him a new one because Maya drank most of it.

Josh nodded as he grabbed Austin's empty. "'Rock Bottom' right after he makes it 'Out of the Woods'."

Christian swallowed his sip of water. "I hate you all." He used the bottle to indicate the entire room.

He wasn't in the room for whatever bet ended with the rule that the group got to pick Christian's next three songs, but he was certainly enjoying what they were choosing for him. His last song had been a One Direction song from the girl's middle school days. Farkle held up a bottle of water to indicate that they needed a few more of them and Josh nodded.

There were two actual bars in the building, and while the largest was immediately out of the room they were in, Maya wrapped her arms around Josh's bicep and led him around one of the other rooms to the one closest to the bathroom. "You need to stop picking on Zay," he warned her when he realized that she was trying to tell him she wanted an extra minute with him.

"He knows I'm harmless." Maya readjusted the hem of her tank top and flipped her loose hair over her shoulder. "And I had to include everyone or else it would look weird."

Including everyone had meant that while she started out practically in Riley's lap during the beginning of her song, Maya had made the rounds to almost every single male in the room. She'd skipped over Will and Farkle for obvious reasons. Isadora had received a kiss on the cheek, and Maya had laid herself across Ali and Christian at once as to not make it seem like she was actually coming on to the oldest of the group. Her main focus had been the 'single' men. Austin even received what Allie had dubbed the most PG lap dance ever.

Josh just shook his head, pulling his wallet from his pocket. "Can I get three Stella's in bottles, another bottle of plum wine, an apple Martini, Malibu Pineapple, and four bottles of water." He didn't glance at Maya the entire time that he talked. It didn't matter that her fake id almost looked more official than his real one. The last thing he needed was anyone questioning her age. The waitress finished ringing him up and he handed over his debit card.

"I could keep my lap dances to Lucas only if it would make you feel better."

His first instinct was to point out that there was absolutely no reason for her to try to make him jealous. After all, their 'casual' thing meant that she wasn't his. Josh settled on, "Jealously is just another name for insecurity." He picked one of the beers up as the server dropped it on the tray.

Maya quirked an eyebrow.

"Somehow," another quick sip as the mixed drinks were added to the tray. "I just can't find it in me to be insecure seeing as I know where you've slept the last three nights."

If he wouldn't have gotten ribbed for weeks about whipping his phone out to capture her faint blush, Josh probably would have done it. "Shawn's going to start to notice I'm not really staying with Riley." Her eyes widened after a moment and she nodded behind him.

"The dorms open back up soon, don't they?" He caught a glimpse of Riley out of the corner of his eye, hopping up to the counter and grabbing a water bottle.

Dorms opened a week before classes and that meant that Maya's tightknit group of friends would be heading back to their respective colleges soon. While Josh knew that Maya was starting to itch for a little bit more time to herself, she wouldn't give up any of them to get it. She would also have to finalize her schedule soon. "If you remind me again, I'm gonna kick you in the shins."

"It's possible to show your displeasure without threatening people," Riley pointed out as a second tray and more drinks were added.

Maya shrugged. "Potato, po-tah-to." She muttered as Josh's grin only got bigger. Riley grabbed the other bottles of water when Josh reached for one tray, leaving Maya to grab the other. "Besides," Josh shook his head when Maya purposefully bumped into him as she bounced up to Riley. "Skippy here wouldn't know what to do with himself if I was _actually_ nice to him."

"You pick on me because you like me," Josh concluded, smiling at his niece as she balanced the bottles in order to open the door to the room for them.

"You're back!" Austin almost threw himself on the floor reaching for his beer. "Chris's almost up."

The blonde passed him the entire tray, turning to Farkle. "Can I sing backup?!"

The genius tossed her one of the microphones before she could ask again.

"Josh's next song is 'Jealous'." Maya's eyes were bright as Farkle cued the music for Christian to thoroughly embarrass himself.

"Really?" His biggest surprise was the fact that no one batted an eye at the song selection. Then again, why should they? Isadora had sung 'Girl Crush' towards the beginning of the evening, dedicating it to Riley. And Austin sang a very dramatic rendition of 'I Got the Boy', practically laying in Maya's lap because she'd chosen the seat beside Josh. Quips had been thrown around all night about everyone.

Maya nodded, catching his gaze and smiling. "He can have my spot."

"Only if you agree to Cake by the Ocean."

Farkle dropped the remote as Austin snorted his beer, hand immediately coming up to try to staunch the burn. "That's just wrong!" He shouted across the room. They had long since passed the age where the euphemism was common knowledge. "Eff you both!"

The room erupted in laughter as Lucas reached across Will to try to clean the table. "Isn't that the point of that song?" Maya cocked an eyebrow at Josh in challenge and Lucas shook his head. "And that's _another_ mental picture I _really_ didn't need."

"Shouldn't you already have half of it?" Riley's hand came up over her mouth the instant she finished her sentence, eyes wide. It didn't matter whether or not she'd painstakingly put makeup on before Will had come to pick her up, her cheeks were officially bright red. Lucas dropped off the couch he was sitting on, knees hitting the tiled floor hard.

Maya had to reach out for Josh's arm to keep herself from falling on the other blonde, Josh's hand instinctively gripping her hip as she wrapped her other arm around him, laughter shaking them both. It didn't really matter that they weren't entirely sure if Riley was trying to insinuate that Lucas and Maya had ever had sex on a beach, or if Lucas should be well acquainted with what Maya looked like during the act itself. The blatant disregard for the innuendo was what got everyone. Even Isadora was blotting her eyes with a paper towel. "That's it!" She shouted when she'd caught her breath. "I have no more to teach you!" His hand still on her hip, Maya offered the room a bow. "I now pronounce you ready to take on the world!"

Christian recovered the microphone he'd dropped carefully, eyes wide. "Does this mean I don't have to sing Taylor Swift?"

* * *

In case anyone is interested, these are the songs that were performed (or discussed) during this chapter (I own none of them):

Steal My Girl (One Direction): The first song Austin sang after he lost his bet.  
She's Country (Jason Aldean): Lucas's country song that started the competition.  
All-American Girl (Carrie Underwood): The other Underwood song mentioned. Riley sang it.  
Relapse (Carrie Underwood): The song Maya's singing as she flirts with everyone.  
Our Song (Ron Pope): The song Will sings to Riley.  
Rock Bottom (Hailee Steinfeld ft. DNCE): The song Austin and Maya have chosen to sing.  
Out of the Woods (Taylor Swift): Christian's next song that everyone chose for him.  
Girl Crush (Little Big Town): Sung by Smackle.  
I Got the Boy (Jana Kramer): Austin making fun of Josh in song.  
Jealous (Nick Jonas): The song Maya wants Josh to sing.  
Cake by the Ocean (DNCE): A song about sex on the beach that Josh wanted Maya to readers, I have decided to share a little piece of myself here with you guys. In order to help me envision the various situations I put out characters into, and to set the mood, I have created a Polyvore and a few playlists that match up with my vision of who the characters are.

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I am still working on the 8tracks for this (a large part of that is creating the album covers). If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

Coming Soon:

"I always wondered if you got some sort of perk because your birthday fell on Valentine's Day." Austin popped the top and took a swig of the bottle before raising it in salute to the two on the other side of the room. "As you were."


	25. Part XVI: House of Cards

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,055  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Maya was distractedly humming Carrie Underwood's 'Heartbeat' when she let herself into his apartment one Thursday evening in February after classes.

Josh actually managed to get two nights off from his internship, as the next day was his birthday –something he never actually thought he'd be able to do in his professional career- and his parents are set to arrive in the city sometime in the morning to help him ring in his twenty-second year on the planet. They've got dinner reservations somewhere in the East Village, even though Cory's been pretending all week that he has no idea what's going on.

The blonde actually wasn't supposed to be making an appearance today, cloistering herself in her room so she could blow through her Mass Comm paper and complete a few sketches for class so she could take the weekend off and celebrate with his family.

He and his parents were supposed to meet her for lunch the next afternoon before she met Riley at Penn Station.

"Well, hello Gorgeous." Josh had actually been in the process of putting the finishing touches on one of the sections of his thesis in order to pave the way for his own school-free weekend. "I thought you weren't gracing me with your presence until tomorrow."

She didn't cross the room to kiss him; that was red flag number one.

Josh was also fairly certain that Maya wouldn't have worn a black and gold crochet sweater tunic and knee-high suede boots to her Early Civilizations lecture this afternoon. He guessed that was red flag number two.

The third was the way she shifted on her heels, giving his dark wash jeans and button down a once over.

"Are you okay to leave the house in that?" He didn't have to look at her to know she was distracted. Josh could hear her earrings jingle as she toyed with a lock of her hair by her shoulder. She'd pinned up the hair at her crown into an intricate twist, the rest of it cascading over shoulders and halfway down her back in beach waves.

Taking in her outfit choice one more time, Josh shrugged. "The better question is: are _you_ okay with me leaving the house in this?" He threw out casually. "I can change if you need me to."

Maya was shaking her head before her brain had seemed to have actually given its permission for the action. "You look fine to me." She shuffled her feet, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I actually have a cab waiting…" Her voice trailed off as if it was unsure of where it needed to go from there. "If you…"

He actually had to bite his lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. Maya Hart had actually shown up at his apartment to take him out. "Gimme half a sec to slide on my shoes and grab my jacket."

There was a second before Maya seemed to actually acknowledge that he'd said anything, her mouth moving in an affirmative, but no sound coming from it. Josh shut his laptop –not caring if he'd remembered to note where he'd left off- and practically ran to his room. The slacks he was planning on wearing out to dinner with his parents were hanging on the back of his desk chair from where he'd pretty much tossed them after collecting them from the dry cleaners, and he shucked off his jeans, toeing into his shoes even as he was readjusting his belt on the new pair of pants.

His phone was changed to his back pocket, keys shoved into his leather jacket, and Josh was back in the living area in three minutes flat.

"You didn't have to change," Maya was toying with her hair again. He didn't miss the tug of the smile on her upper lip when she noticed the upgrade, though, so Josh counted it as a win. "You were fine how you were."

Not caring if her red lip gloss could transfer, Josh pulled Maya into a kiss. "Next to you, I was underdressed." He shifted his lips up to her temple and gestured to the door.

He considered texting Austin to let him know that they wouldn't be doing their usual pre-birthday pizza and movie fest, but Josh honestly didn't feel like letting go of Maya to reach for his phone. She had positioned herself next to him when he'd turned to lock the door, and her hand slipped into his pocket as he pressed his to the small of her back to lead her to the stairs.

Just as Maya had said, there was a yellow cab waiting for them when they pulled the security door to the building closed.

"East Village," Maya smiled up at the cabbie sweetly, crossing her legs at her ankles. "East Seventh and First, please."

"Where are we going?" Josh knew the likelihood of her telling him was extremely rare, but he had to at least ask.

Maya seemed to consider it, pulling the side of her bottom lip between her teeth and looking over at him through her lashes. "Dinner," She decided instead.

" _You're_ taking me to dinner?"

Josh didn't mean to sound incredulous. He was actually pretty surprised that she'd come up with it. Neither one of them had mentioned a single thing about him getting another date since he'd gotten his first one. Yes, they'd gone out to a movie just the two of them at the beginning of the month, but they both had wanted to see it, and there had been no hiding it. There was the usual dinner at his brother's house –moved to Tuesdays since Maya had a late lecture on Thursday and Auggie had soccer practice- and it was a well-known fact that whenever the schedule matched up he could be found sitting at the counter at _Topanga's_ harassing her while she worked. They also ate out with Christian and Allie a few times since classes had started, so it was no secret they hung out.

He supposed there was a difference.

Beside him, Maya had stilled. The apples of her cheeks had reddened slightly, and the lip that had been captive was pushed out forcefully. "I am," she almost whispered. "It's your birthday tomorrow, and Lord knows when Alan and Amy are descending." She took a breath and Josh finally noticed that she was picking at the cuticle of her thumb under the cover of her clutch. "I thought it would be nice."

Josh stopped breathing.

Maya Hart had thought it would be nice to take him on a date for his birthday.

He didn't care that they were in the back seat of a cab. Josh threaded his hand through her hair, bringing her flush up against him. There was no preamble. Josh didn't wait to see if she'd accept the kiss, he just set out to thoroughly plunder her mouth.

Not that she protested in any way. Maya shifted her legs, allowing Josh's other arm to slip behind her, practically pulling her to straddle him. With a knee on either side of his hips, she gasped into his mouth, her own hands scrambling for purchase on his jacket. If the cab driver said anything, Josh didn't hear it, all of his focus concentrated on the noise in the back of her throat as their tongues dueled for dominance.

Her body shook as Josh pulled her forward, both hands planted on her hips now. The cab was slowing to a stop –the driver still not saying anything about what was going on in his backseat- and he swallowed another groan when she pulled away.

"Best birthday ever." He whispered into her mouth.

Maya actually giggled. "That's it?" She asked as she slid back onto the bench beside him. "Dinner and a kiss?" His grin was lazy, and Maya ran a hand over his cheek gently. "God, you're easy."

He tried not to protest when Maya pulled cash out of her clutch for the cab driver. Alan had instilled the adage 'a gentleman always pays' in his brain, but this was Maya's show and he was going to have to let her run it. He did anchor both hands on her hips once they were on the street, dipping down for another messy kiss.

"Only for you," he whispered in her ear as he slipped a kiss to her temple.

Because Maya couldn't let him have the last word, she slipped her hand back into his pocket and smiled. "Man you're getting sappy in your old age."

* * *

The innocuous building they pulled up to had hidden one of the finest authentic Japanese restaurants that Josh had never known could be found in the city. Maya treated him to Kyo Ya's famous sweet potato tempura, served with soy sauce and Mongolian salt, smoked Anago, and assorted sashimi –half of which she slathered liberally with wasabi in order to keep him from taking it when he'd accused her of eating more than her fair share. She ordered him a birthday sake, but other than that her 'simulated identification' didn't make an appearance. Josh decided not to mention it, though, especially since she had held his hand all through their desert of sweet sakura mocha and grapefruit sorbet.

After their bill had been paid –she didn't let him see it, and Josh tried not to lose it when he realized that she was paying with her own debit card rather than the one given to her by Shawn- Maya gave him the choice between 'option A' and 'option B' for their next activity.

It was decidedly more interesting seeing as though Maya refused to tell Josh what either option was.

He'd gone with 'option A', because of the way her eyes lit up when she'd said it. Half an hour later found him laughing himself silly on the back of a fully restored painted horse at Central Park's vintage carousel while Maya belted out the lyrics to 'When the Children Are Asleep," from the musical of the same name.

She twirled around one of the standalone poles, seamlessly pulling herself up onto the horse next to him.

"Next time you break into song; I'm putting it up on Instagram." Josh handed her back her purse with one hand and fiddled with his phone with the other. "Just throwing that out there."

"I can take your present back," she coughed, pulled herself further up on her own horse.

He couldn't hide his confusion, head cocked to the side. "I thought this was the present." Without thinking, he reached for her. His thumb brushed over the back of her hand before gliding up her arm to cup her cheek. "You treated me to dinner, and now we're goofing off in Central Park." She licked his thumb when it bopped her on the nose. "You're telling me that I'm getting an actual present on top of that?"

"I don't know how I feel about that skepticism, Matthews." She shifted her hips to allow her to turn to face him without worrying about holding on to the pole.

"You're admiring my moxie," Josh quirked an eyebrow.

Maya just laughed. "Something like that."

The horses were slowing now, not that the attendant was going to ask them to step off the ride. They had another twenty minutes before the poor kid was allowed to shut down, and he had a feeling that he and Maya would be there the whole time.

"So what'd you get me?"

Her eyes rolled even as Maya reached out for him again. "You can wait until tomorrow." Her tone may have been rough, but her smile was bright, and Josh used a hand to steady her as she leaned in for another kiss.

"Is it something I can open around my parents?" While he wasn't expecting a charm bracelet or a declaration of love, Josh was weary of Maya's sense of humor. This was the same woman that gave Austin a 'thug life' thong for Christmas just because he made the mistake of uttering the phrase to her one night when they were studying for finals. She'd also slipped a condom into Riley's wallet when the brunette had entrusted her with her purse while she was running to the bathroom out to eat one afternoon. She'd handed another one to Will with a wink and a 'you never know when you're gonna need it', which was about as much as she was going to allow either one of them to know that she was just trying to look out for her friend.

Blue eyes twinkled. "I'm half tempted to say 'no' just to see what you do when I hand it to you in front of them anyway."

He didn't rise to the bait. "I'd open it anyway." Josh winked at her. "At this point, no one will be surprised at much of anything you do."

"You say that," Maya's hand came up and gripped his bicep to lean in for another, longer kiss. "But I know of at least two people who would flip their shit if they saw us right now."

If it weren't for the fact that he had been adamant about not forcing Maya to talk about a relationship before she was ready, Josh would have picked that moment to point out that his brother and Shawn would get over it. And the only thing Riley would be upset about was the fact that they'd been together for three months and no one had told her yet.

"Might be fun to watch," he decided with a shrug.

He pulled her to him before she could roll her eyes at him again.

* * *

His phone dinged when he and Maya were working together to get through the front door. Well, Josh was working to get his key in the lock. Maya's hands were currently on his belt buckle, his button down wide open after the trip up the stairs. There's a fleeting moment where he hopes that Austin is either still out –which would be unlikely because it's pushing on midnight and Josh isn't _that_ lucky- or tucked away safely in his room. There's another chime when he finally gets the door open, ushering Maya in and dropping his keys on the other side, both of their jackets joining it on the floor.

"Don't do it," she whispers against his lips, tongue dipping in for just a moment before running away again.

Josh doesn't have to ask what she doesn't want him to do. It is most likely officially February fourteenth, and the rapid succession of noise means that he's not the only one that noticed. The twinkle of Riley's text tone joins the cacophony and Josh had all the confirmation on the time he needs. "Don't do what?" He asks anyway, just to watch her lip curl.

He used her hips as leverage to hoist her up, back against the door and her legs wrapping instinctively around his waist. "Don't be coy, ass hole."

"I could have sworn that there's some rule that says you have to be nice to me today." Josh withheld his next kiss, allowing Maya to shove his button down over his shoulders.

Maya scoffed, licking a stripe up the column of his throat. "We agreed to not celebrate Valentine's Day." Her voice is in his ear, which contradicts the fact that her mouth still hasn't left his neck. "I don't have to do nothing."

Josh decided not to question it. "Now who's being coy?"

"Adorably oblivious," Maya corrects, groaning when he readjusts his grip on her thighs. "And if you reach for that phone I'm walking out this door."

"Would you now?" He'd really like to see her try, honestly, he would. It's not that he wouldn't let her go. If she told him to stop what he was doing, Josh would put her down, take a step back and wait for her to catch back up to him. But he knew Maya Hart well enough to see an empty threat for what it was. He pushed her further into the door just enough to let go of one thigh.

Blue eyes widened.

"Don't do it," Maya whined. Her fingers dug into his skin, and he placed his hand back on her thigh. "I wanted to be first."

Josh actually pulled back then, actually catching her gaze. "First to what?"

Her smile lit up the room, even as she nervously pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Happy Birthday Josh."

"Best birthday ever." He whispered, ducking down for another kiss.

If Josh could bring himself to regret any part of his night at that moment, it would be the fact that he didn't give more consideration to whether or not his roommate was in the apartment. The light flicked on in the kitchen with absolutely no warning at all, and Austin cocked his head to the side as he examined the scene playing out against the front door.

"Huh."

Maya dropped her forehead to Josh's shoulder, gentle shakes showed amusement, but no shame. "What?" Josh readjusted the blonde in his arms, trying to recall just how undressed she'd managed to get him. The worst that Austin could probably see was a bit of his bare back, maybe a glimpse of his boxer briefs, and a good deal of Maya's thigh. Their position was intimate, but not overly vulgar.

His roommate continued to the refrigerator –where he was most likely headed to begin with before he realized that they had made it home- and snagged a bottle of water from the door. "I always wondered if you got some sort of perk because your birthday fell on Valentine's Day." Austin popped the top and took a swig of the bottle before raising it in salute to the two on the other side of the room. "As you were."

He was at least polite enough to flip the light back off before he kicked his bedroom door shut.

Maya's body was shaking both of them now, her giggles no longer quiet. "That probably could have been worse."

His grip loosened, and Josh allowed Maya to slide to the floor, waiting to fully let go of her until her heels were firmly on the floor. "It was Austin," he agreed. "That could have ended with us featured on Snapchat."

Her grin overtly chipper, Maya just shrugged. "Happy Birthday?" She said again.

The first thing that came to mind when her head tilted to the side was that it was. Austin notwithstanding, this was still one of the best starts to his birthday that Josh had had in recent memory. He actually couldn't remember what he'd done the year before.

He considered telling her that, more to see what she'd do with that information than anything else, but stopped himself, shifting so he could bend to pick up the clothing that was now decorating the entrance. Once the coats were hung on the back of chairs, Maya's clutch on the table next to Josh's keys, he reached out for her again. "I think you left a pair of jeans here the other day." It was a question hidden in a statement. She'd changed at his place before a showcase a few nights ago, her roommate supposedly hosting a study session, and his apartment was closer to the gallery than Shawn's had been. He hadn't mentioned that she'd forgotten to take the bag with her, and she'd never asked for it.

There was the fleeting thought if this meant she was going to be appropriating another of his shirts.

Maya shrugged, "that's good." She didn't follow his gesture, lifting one foot off the floor so she could unzip one boot. Her eyes didn't leave his as she lost six inches when the second heel came off. "One of us is going to have to set an alarm."

Josh didn't hesitate to pull his phone from his pocket. "I told Dad that I was going out with Austin tonight and that we'd be home late." Maya's eyebrow rose. "They'll actually call this time."

"Weren't you the one that decided on the 'no lying' rule?"

"There was no lie." Josh corrected, stepping towards her when she didn't move to him. "That had been my original plan for the night, Gorgeous. It's not my fault that you showed up."

She laughed as his lips touched hers. "Technicality."

"I'll take what I can get." Shoes dropped in their usual place by the kitchen island, and Maya led him down the hall to his room.

* * *

Josh wasn't entirely sure when it happened, but Maya had become fascinated in the pulse point on his wrist whenever he wasn't wearing his watch.

It was how he woke up in the wee hours of the morning, Maya so close against him that he didn't think he'd be able to move without dislodging her, her thumb brushing the inside of his wrist. He knew better than to say it was anything but the fascination with the tattoo he had there, but it still made him a little giddy that they had something that was just theirs.

Her lips grazed his jaw when she realized his breathing was no longer even, and she shifted again, pushing her back against his chest, to bury herself more completely against the covers. Maya still had yet to let go of his wrist, thumb pressed carefully against the bone. His lips found her shoulder, as he sat up slowly, his hand spanning her side.

"How is it you have three tattoos and I only have one?" Josh wasn't sure what made him say it aloud. It could have been the dark ink under his palm or the fact that he could clearly see the outline of her foot where it stuck out from underneath the top sheet on the bed.

Josh knew that Maya didn't give it any sort of actual consideration as she turned in his arms again, shrugging before pulling the sheet closer to her chest. "I'm cooler than you?" He could feel her smile in the dark, and just because he could, Josh kissed her again. "And I wouldn't exactly count yours as an actual tattoo."

"Why the hell not?" He didn't stop himself from asking.

"Farkle's is bigger," Maya countered, and Josh was so very glad that the only people who could hear the conversation were the ones having it. He was definitely not in the mood for a 'size doesn't matter' conversation. Again. "It's also on your wrist." That one came with another shift, so Maya could regain her grip on said wrist. It had been his failed attempt at a teenage rebellion when he turned eighteen.

When you grew up the youngest Matthews sibling –and your parents have been through everything that Amy and Alan had- there really weren't a lot of options when you tried to break the mold. Josh's had come in the form of a compass rose just left of the center of the inside of his wrist. It was simple, quick, and relatively painless, and when his mother saw it three days later she simply reached into the cabinet beside the sink and handed him a small bottle of scent free lotion so it wouldn't dry out in February in Philadelphia.

"And you cover it up with your watch all the damn time." Josh wasn't sure whether or not that was the part that bothered Maya so much about his tattoo. Ever since she'd discovered it, Maya had gravitated to it, even going as far as to relieve him of his watch when they were watching television.

His hand spanned her ribcage again, slipping to the opposite hip. "Like yours is so easy to see?" He questioned softly.

"Mine aren't for everyone." Maya's tone was flippant as if he should have known better.

He slipped his hand underneath her thigh, pulling her up into his lap, cover and all. "And mine has to be?" Josh nosed her ear, dropping a kiss below her ear. "What kind of effed up double standard is that?"

Her smile was careful, and Josh was transported three months into the past as she cocked her head to the side and bit her lip. "Would you like to lodge a formal complaint?" When he just shook his head, Maya giggled.

"So, I know about this one," he slipped his hand down her shin to her ankle, thumb following her metatarsal over the words 'she keeps me safe' slowly. While he had been nowhere near her when she got it the weekend of Riley's Birthday, he'd had a front row seat to the fallout to his brother discovering its mate ('she keeps me wild') on Riley Christmas Day. He had to say that it suited them, even if his brother didn't agree. "Where did this one come from?" his hand dipped to her hip, caressing the ink over her aponeurosis muscle. Where the writing on her foot was simple, if he were a betting man he'd say it was Riley's print, the words on her hip flowed beautifully.

Maya smiled.

"It's something I heard once, I can't remember where," she dropped her head back onto his shoulder. "'Fate whispers to the warrior, 'you cannot withstand the storm.' And the warrior whispers back -"

"I am the storm." His fingers brushed the four words again. He wasn't sure if it was the feel of the slightly raised lettering or the goosebumps on her hip that made him do it a third time. "How very you." Then his entire hand changed course, slipping back toward him and her other hip before slipping up her side along her rib cage and close to her breast. There were two sloppy lines, beautiful in their contrast. The top line read 'I move the stars for no one.' He had no idea what language the bottom was in.

"Please tell me you've seen the Labyrinth," Maya rotated in his arms so she could meet his eyes. "David Bowie in tights, dancing with muppets?"

It was one of Morgan's favorites, even though at the moment Josh couldn't place the line. "I've seen it," he confirmed, his hand automatically anchoring itself to her hip.

"'How you turn my world, you precious thing.'" Her voice was low as if she wasn't conscious of actually singing the words. "The one below it is in Arabic. It says 'love yourself first'"

It had actually been the very first tattoo she'd ever gotten, straight out of high school and horribly bored one night after seeing a movie with Lucas. Josh wouldn't get the whole story until later, but she'd let the Texan pick it out, more because she knew that he'd give it more meaning than she probably would. The tattoo had been her own act of rebellion, something she hadn't really needed, but it made her feel better all the same. Lucas had thought up with the phrase so quickly that it was like he had known that it was coming.

Josh traced the letters with the tip of his finger slipping across the sensitive skin under her breast and down her abs. "Why Arabic?"

He wasn't entirely sure what kind of answer he expected. "It reads beautifully." His eyes dropped back to her ribs. Apparently that wasn't it.

"When did you add the other?" Now that his hands had mapped her tattoos with her consent, he couldn't seem to stop doing it, tracing letters and flattening his palm against her skin to feel the muscle bunch.

"Paris." It had been after she returned, if she was being specific, trying to find a way to figure out how to separate her identity from her best friend. She and Riley had been so deeply rooted into each other before they'd left for college that the first weeks without each other were unbearable. "I needed to re-establish me."

Josh listened to her mutter the words 'I can't live within you,' and flipped her, bringing her completely underneath him. "So you've got me thinking that I may need to catch up," his lips skimmed over her collarbone, and Maya's entire body shivered. "Think you can help me with that?"

Her fingers twitched even before he'd gotten his idea out of his mouth. If it weren't three o'clock in the morning, Maya would have already been out of bed, grabbing for the sketchpad that Josh kept on his desk –more for her when he was bored than his thesis diagrams, but she didn't need to know that- and playing with ideas. Then he watched her freeze.

"You sure you want my help?" Maya's voice was small, and josh closed his eyes against her shrinking underneath him. "Tattoos are kind of intimate things."

Josh couldn't help the confusion on his face. "I'm not sure if you've noticed this," a shift of his hips and Maya bit her lip to stifle her groan. "But I think you and I surpassed 'intimate' a while ago." She met his gaze, and Josh dropped a kiss to the crease on her brow. "I trust you, Maya."

She shifted her gaze to his chest, blinking a few times. Josh was actually worried that he'd pushed too hard when she nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can come up with." She promised.

His phone sprang to life from the other side of the room and Josh wondered what had possessed him not to turn the ringer off. This had to be his least favorite part of this particular day. He unlocked his elbows, dropping most of his weight on Maya's chest, head pillowing against her shoulder. "Why is it you insist on serious conversations so damn early in the morning?" He groaned into her pulse.

"You started this one, birthday boy." A jerk of her hips and Josh rolled back onto his side. "I was just doing my civic duty and humoring you."

Josh grinned, pulling her flush against him. "Is this you telling me to let you get to sleep?"

Her head shook, hair brushing his nose. "This is a vague hint that when you're dragging ass tomorrow, Riley and I _will_ be referring to you as 'old man Matthews'." Maya's hips readjusted against his, and somehow Josh couldn't find it in him to care.

* * *

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

I am still working on the 8tracks for this (a large part of that is creating the album covers). If anyone is interested in the songs that will be appearing there - or has a better understanding of Photoshop than I do and can lend me a hand - leave it in your review!

* * *

Coming Soon:

 _Babineaux dropped his head onto Maya's and wrapped both arms around her. "How'd you get so far in life being a tiny little fluff ball of rage?"_


	26. Part XVII: Fly With Me

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,952  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

On Thursday, March 19, 2020, Joshua Gabriel Matthews received his first official job offer as a Junior Architect at Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill.

It was contingent on his completion of study at New York University and graduation with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture. He's presented with an incentive worth another eight thousand dollars a year if he also finishes the other line of study he was working on that will give him his BS in Environmental Policy and Management.

Amy goes crazy for the benefits package that comes with the offer; Full health and dental, discounts for a gym membership, and an offer to pay for a third of his moving costs when he transitions from student to official employee. They also offer Josh three weeks –unpaid- vacation after graduation before his job starts so he can destress. Alan is impressed by the fact that they offer him a signing bonus on the condition that he entertain no other offers from a competitor. He's offered a 401K and the chance to buy into stock options after he's been there for two years.

Josh was just relieved that his immediate future after graduation was officially certain.

On Friday, March 20, 2020, Joshua Gabriel Matthews realized that absolutely none of what happened the day before matters when trying to pull Maya Hart out of bed so they can meet their families for lunch before they start their journey through airports to spend their Spring Break in Italy.

He'll admit that it's most likely his fault. Austin was also flying out that morning to meet his family down in Cabo San Lucas, Smackle's plane arrived from Dartmouth just after dinner, and Lucas drove down after his last midterm, which made it really easy for Maya to convince Josh that they all needed to have a relaxing movie night before the rest of the horde descended.

They turned off the television at quarter after midnight. He had no idea what time he finally convinced Maya that if she didn't let him sleep she wasn't allowed to spend the night anymore.

There was a tap on the apartment door, and Josh was thankful that the packed bags hadn't made it out of his bedroom yet. That was only because he didn't really want to explain both sets of suitcases to anyone that didn't already know that Maya was currently dominating his bed.

He gave up trying to tempt her with the promise of caffeine –they'd have to leave the apartment to get it, after all he was working on the last of the pot that he made when he was up at eight thirty- and pulled his bedroom door closed behind him, not paying any attention to whether or not it clicked. Another knock and Josh dropped his own mug off the table on his way to the door.

"Is she at least conscious?" Lucas said in lieu of 'hello' when the door finally swung open. He handed Josh a bag from _Topanga's_ and a to-go cup, keeping one for himself, and laughed when the older man just stared at him.

"I've been awake long enough to log hours at the office," Josh took a sip of his cup, hoped that none of the family was there when Lucas ordered his and Maya's favorite drinks, and moved back to the kitchen island. His laptop was still open where he'd left it, the login screen for S.O.M. displayed next to his email. "I've also submitted the next set of chapters of my thesis to Ritter _and_ emailed my employment offer to Topanga for her to look over." He gestured in the direction of his bedroom. "She has yet to open both eyes."

The younger man laughed, shaking his head. "Maya will _never_ be a morning person."

"It's _ten-thirty_ ," Josh reminded Lucas. And that didn't say that he didn't have a surefire way to wake Maya up. Had he been prepared to spend another hour and a half in bed with her, he could have found a way to open her eyes just fine. But he'd already had his shower and gotten dressed, and if they both showed up late and disheveled to the Minkus lunch, there would be more questions than answers. It would have also made Lucas showing up just slightly more awkward. "I think we've passed the morning part."

When he looked up, Josh realized he'd been talking to himself.

Exactly three minutes later Maya scurried across the hallway to the bathroom in one of Josh's hoodies. Lucas emerged a few seconds later, smiling to himself.

Josh just shook his head as he moved around the counter, dumping the contents of his mug into the sink and then dropping it into the dishwasher. There were officially no more dirty dishes to haunt them when he and Austin returned from their respective vacations. "You're going to have to teach me how you do that." He threw out as he turned the device on.

"The secret is the fact that Maya hates to be cold." Lucas reached into the bag that he'd originally handed Josh and pulled out two scones. He handed one to the dark haired man. Half of it went into his mouth before he grinned. "Flip the fan on then steal the covers."

"How in the hell do you know that?"

There was a beat and both men looked at each other. "Riley." They said in unison. Josh made a mental note to see if he could discretely pick his niece's brain for more things that he should know about the woman who was in his bed more often than not.

Lucas finished his scone just as the shower turned off, neither man saying anything. When Maya emerged from the bathroom, clad in a flowing wine colored maxi skirt and a white camisole, Josh was back to going through his inbox and the younger man was playing minion run on his phone. She snagged the black longline cardigan off of the back of a kitchen chair and swung it over her shoulders, flipping her messy French braid out of the way.

"You two aren't ready to leave yet?" She slipped into her sandals and huffed. "I just texted Farkle, Lou's already on his way."

Whether it was allowed or not, Josh laughed at the absurdity of Maya lecturing them about their current positions while she'd been in bed up until twenty minutes ago. Not that you could tell it by looking at her. Maya had snagged the only Danish in the bag and was bouncing on her toes as she leaned against the counter to rest her empty coffee cup there while she munched on her treat. She wasn't wearing makeup –which would probably be rectified when they got into the Minkus's town car- but her hair was pulled up away from her face and she leaned her head against Lucas's shoulder to mutter commands to his minion.

"Have you decided which sketchpad you're taking with you?" The night before she'd argued on the phone with Riley for twenty minutes as she debated taking one she'd already been using as opposed to a brand new one. Zay had dumbly asked why she didn't just take both, and they had all been treated to fifteen minutes of Maya explaining –rather loudly- as to why that was not the best idea ever.

Maya shook her head. "I went ahead and grabbed both," she said reaching for Lucas's half full mug completely unperturbed with the fact that both men were now staring at her.

"You're gonna owe Babineaux an apology," Lucas plucked his cup out of Maya's hands before she could take a sip.

The blonde shook her head, snatching the cup back. "If it'll make you happy." She decided, finishing it off and tossing it in the direction of the trash can.

Closing his laptop, Josh slipped it into its sleeve before reaching for his Samsonite boarding bag. He unzipped the top, double checked the contents, and then slipped the sleeve on top to make it easier to pull out while moving through security. His toiletry bag was just underneath the bag that held his tech accessories and his passport case was tucked into the side.

Lucas's face scrunched slightly as he watched the older man set the bag on the kitchen table, moving to the bedroom just to come out both his and Maya's suitcases, her second carry-on strapped to the handle of the larger bag. "Both Katy and Shawn are going to be at lunch." He started, using his finger to gesture to Maya and Josh, and then back to the luggage. "How are you planning on hiding the fact that you slept here last night?"

"Who's hiding?" Maya slipped her phone from the oversized leather and straw bag that she was using as a purse that day. "We had movie night, it was bound to run late, so I brought my stuff with me so I wouldn't be rushed." Josh noticed that she left off the part where Katy had already begun to suspect the two of them.

Josh just shrugged. While this wasn't what he'd had in mind when he stipulated that they didn't lie, he couldn't disagree with Maya's logic. He also couldn't fault the fact that she had come up with it all on her own.

"What?"

Shaking his head, Lucas stood. "I'm just wondering how many people habitually underestimate you." The phone in his hand buzzed, and Lucas tapped the 'home' button. "Lou's here."

Lucas was the first out the door, pulling Maya's bag with him. He heard Josh spin his keys around his finger, pulling the door closed and securing the bottom lock and the deadbolt. He completely missed the way Maya reached for the older man as they headed to the stairs.

* * *

Maya physically stopped when they entered the Minkus penthouse forty minutes later, watching Lou take her bags across the entryway to where everyone else's had been situated. Josh was cc'd on the email that had informed everyone that two chauffeured SUVs from Stuart's car service would be arriving promptly at two-thirty to transport them to the airport. Once Josh slid his own suitcase across the room there were eight different rolling bags –most with their carry-on close by- neatly lined in rows waiting to be taken back downstairs.

The look on the blonde's face announced that this trip had just gotten a lot more real to her.

It wasn't that she wasn't used to traveling. Being Riley's best friend, Maya had taken plenty of summer trips with a large number of people. She wasn't even new to traveling abroad. Last summer she'd spent three weeks on a student visa in Paris. While she was there her host family had gotten together with a few of the organizers and took them on day trips to wherever sounded fun at the time. Her Instagram that month had been full of sightseeing in London, shopping in Calais, even a few days lounging on the beach in Saint-Malo.

Josh wondered if it had to do with the fact that before she had been alone. Yes, she had her host family, and the other young adults in the program, but there had been no one there that had known her. Certainly, no one who had watched her grow up. For those four weeks, she had simply been Maya.

And while her group was the biggest homage to the Non-Judging Breakfast Club that Josh had ever seen, there were expectations that were to be met, and sometimes it got to her.

He wished he could reach for her, run his hand down her back and drop a kiss to the spot behind her ear. Josh was half tempted to do the first part anyway. At least until Lucas slid up behind her, bending her over frontwards so he could wrap both arms around her legs and flip her up into him, practically racing into the dining room.

"Sorry, we're late!" Josh heard the Texan call to occupants. " _Someone_ didn't want to get out of bed this morning."

" _Someone_ was comfy, bastard."

"Language!" Cory shrieked as Josh caught a glimpse of Lucas holding Maya steady beside her best friend so Riley could drop a kiss to the crown of Maya's head. "And put her down!"

Lucas dropped her into the nearest chair in the dining room, winking at her as he moved around the room to take a seat next to his mother. Unlike Cory, who still looked scandalized, Carol Ann Friar just laughed at the way Maya stuck her tongue out at her former teacher. Josh scanned the table before finding a seat on the other side of Will, sidestepping Cory to get there.

"Now," his brother went on, arms crossed against his chest as he pointed to Riley. "Your mother and I may not be there, but you are far from unsupervised!" Topanga shook her head beside her husband. There had probably been no way to avoid this lecture, and the look she sent the kids told them that she at least hoped that they could take what he was saying with a grain of salt. "Your uncle will be watching you the whole time. Isn't that right, Josh?" Cory managed a sip of his sweet tea as he pointed down the table. "You're going to keep an eye on them?"

"Sometimes even two," Josh's phone vibrated in his pocket and he skipped over whatever picture Austin had sent him to read his mom's quick message. "As often as I can spare them."

"And I trust Josh." While Will was paying rapt attention to the crazy man, Riley bypassed her father's look to start a conversation with Farkle about their first hotel. "Because unlike the rest of you, Josh is not a slave to his hormones."

Lucas cut his eyes to the other end of the table. Josh barely looked up from his phone.

Maya spat her sip of lemonade onto the floor as she tried not to fall out of her chair.

"Sorry." The blonde righted herself, setting her glass back on the table and accepting a napkin from Smackle. Lucas just shook his head as he tossed his napkin down the table as well. "Wrong pipe." Maya motioned to her throat vaguely as she dabbed at her lips with the cloth, glancing up at Stuart to try to apologize.

Josh didn't look down the table at her. Especially when he realized that Katy was patting her on the back, whispering something in her ear.

"What exactly do you think is going to happen in Italy that couldn't happen in New Haven?" Riley had her arms crossed now, and Josh realized that he apparently missed something. Cory sputtered. "No offense Uncle Josh," she threw out while the rest of the adults turned their attention to her. "But there are seven of us and one of him." He could understand her logic. Even if he'd decided to police the young adults while they were a continent away from their parents, he wouldn't be very effective at it. "And we're all fairly brilliant people, if we wanted to find a way to get away with something, we would have done it already."

Maya nodded in agreement, this time forgoing the grin that would have effectively stated that she'd already found a way around many of Cory's policies –and was currently carrying on quite well behind the parent's backs. Topanga smiled at the blonde. "I'm pretty much the poster child for 'if they want it bad enough, they'll find a way'."

"Not really helpful, Peaches." Riley reached out to her father before he could start back up again. "Daddy," she slid out of her chair, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "The time has come for you to trust us."

"Even Mr. Feeny let you go out into the world by yourself." Farkle leaned back in his chair, gesturing to the adults who had gone to school together.

Cory took a breath. "You will call every day,"

Both girls nodded in unison. "Yes, sir."

"You will update social media so we can keep track of you," Shawn was watching Maya now, who nodded quickly.

Stuart leaned against the table, making eye contact with his son. "I'm expecting confirmation emails for every flight, every check in, and every train."

It was Farkle's turn to nod.

Smackle just shrugged, smiling across the room at her parents. "Father just activated the GPS tracking software in my smartphone." She threw out nonchalantly.

Cory and Shawn's eyes lit up.

"No." Katy laughed as she reached for her daughter. "Am I the only parent who isn't going insane that my kid's leaving the country?"

"If I can trust Lucas in Ithaca by himself," Carol Ann Friar took a sip of her sweet tea, smiling over at Maya. There was no way that she hadn't figured out that Lucas and Maya were together at some point. Josh noted the way her eyes softened in her direction and wondered if she hadn't realized that they weren't anymore. "Then there's no reason not to trust him on Spring Break."

Topanga smiled over at Farkle's mother reassuringly. "Now that Crazy is done, should we feed the kids?"

* * *

The rest of the meal was generally tame, all things considered. Stuart and Farkle took the time to sync apps to make sure everyone had their boarding passes. Extras were also printed to make sure that they had a contingency in case of a problem. Riley was handed the Matthews emergency credit card –this time to actually be used in the event that the world is ending- and Shawn called his bank to make sure that Maya's card was authorized to be used abroad. Josh had already taken care of that part for his own cards, as well as signing up for his phone carrier's traveling program that ensured that he won't be paying an arm and a leg for international calls.

Riley and Maya take five dozen selfies as the bags are loaded, and Josh pretended not to notice Maya tear up when Shawn handed her an envelope full of Euros before there's a group hug and the young adults are loaded into the waiting vehicles.

Amazingly enough, the hardest part about getting eight people through airport security was the fact that four of them won't stop talking to each other long enough to go through the checkpoint. There's also the fact that Maya is half tempted to try to go through the scanners on Lucas's back because 'I had to take my shoes off and the floor is icky!'

Josh was incredibly thankful that he didn't have to play the adult in that scenario, and that Lucas set the blonde firmly on the floor so TSA wouldn't impede their travels any more than they already had to.

Farkle led them to their correct terminal, and once they located the gate it seemed to be a free for all as to how they wait for the boarding call. Josh can't help but be impressed at how –while everyone else discussed whether or not they need to grab a snack or Will contemplated grabbing yet another magazine- Zay simply sat down on the floor in front of the oversized window and pulled his carry-on bag underneath his head, promptly falling asleep. He wakes up long enough to decline Farkle's offer of an actual pillow, props his feet up on Lucas's duffel bag because it's there, and passes out again.

Josh set up his laptop while the girls did whatever it was that they wanted to do. It takes them twenty minutes to decide to settle in for the hour and a half wait, Josh allows himself to take a breath, leaving them to their own devices in front of the gate and to stretch his legs for a bit.

When he's grabbed on the way out of the bathroom, all it takes for Josh not to try to fight his attacker is the scent of cinnamon and a low-key giggle.

Maya pulls him into the closest actual shop and he found himself pressed up against the backside of the window display in Hugo Boss while Maya ravaged his mouth. It took Josh a minute to reach for her –if he wanted to sink his hands in her hair and shift them so she's the one with her back to the wall but that would mean she would need extra time to fix the damage- but when he does his fingers slip around her cardigan and underneath her lace trimmed camisole to graze the tattoo there.

He loses count of the number of breaths they completely bypass, Maya pulling back just long enough to moan, before it all becomes too much and he wrenches his lips from hers.

"Not that I'm complaining," her hand slid up his chest under his tee. Would there ever be a time where he would get enough of Maya Hart? "But what do I owe the pleasure of this ambush?"

"We're an hour away from spending the next eight days trapped in close quarters pretending none of this exists." Another kiss, this one sweeter, as Maya fiddled with his belt. "I was hoping to stave off withdrawal just a little longer."

His smile was not at all cautious. "Is this you telling me that you'll miss us?"

Maya indulged him with that, sliding her other hand up his chest to cup the back of his neck. "I may have gotten a little addicted to you, Matthews."

Josh gripped both of her hips now, bringing her closer to him and shifting so her back was to the glass. Maya brought her arms to band around his neck and he kissed her forehead to breathe in her hair. "Would it make you feel better to know the feeling is mutual?" Nuzzling her nose against his pulse point, Maya whispered a kiss or two on his jaw. "And according to the emails I've been forwarded, I'm getting my own room this week." He could feel her smile against his neck. "If you get too desperate I think I can accommodate."

Her body stilled for a moment, shifting to allow herself to just be held by him. Josh had to take his own moment to adjust. In the three months that they had started seeing each other, this was the first time she'd done it outside of the bedroom, much less in someplace as public as John F. Kennedy International Airport.

When she didn't rise to the bait, Josh brushed his lips across her brow. "Where'd you leave the others?"

"They're all at the gate." Maya laced her fingers through his, looking down at their hands. "Riley started a game of 'Senseless Survey',"

It was the party game that Josh had always tried to avoid for one reason or another. The biggest was the fact that it was truth or dare, only without the dare part. Someone asked a question and everyone took turns answering it. Questions could range anywhere from 'what's your favorite animal?' to 'what's your biggest fear?' to 'say one nice thing about Zay'. The last time he'd gotten caught with the group he'd been asked to describe the perfect woman.

It was the first time since Christmas that Maya's poker face had been better than his.

"What question made you run away?" Even though she was probably telling the truth about wanting a few more kisses before they boarded, that wouldn't have been the only reason for her to leave their group of friends.

"Zay asked who the last person we kissed was." Maya shifted on her feet, dropping his hand as they stepped into the terminal. " _Someone_ made me promise I wouldn't lie, so I asked what was taking you so long and hopped up to find you."

Josh laughed, spotting their group of friends by the window Zay was previously sleeping next to. "Another smooth Hart move."

A quick shrug and Maya took half a step away from him. "I didn't think Cory would actually say it!" She defended, stepping back to nudge him with his shoulder. "' Josh is not a slave to his hormones!'" Riley looked up from her place in Will's lap at that, watching Maya's eye dance.

Shaking his head, Josh sighed. "He's not wrong." He dropped his voice and turned his head, bringing his hand up to scratch his nose to make it harder for Riley to read his lips. "I'm not a slave to _my_ hormones."

Maya tried to hide her grin under the guise of biting her lower lip. She was unsuccessful. "You're going to regret telling me that." She whispered, skipping ahead to step over Farkle's legs so she could plop down on the other side of Lucas.

The Texan shifted to his right to make more room, and Josh had no choice but to put himself between Lucas and the blonde that had just sat down.

"Addicted, Saving Abel." Lucas couldn't hide his smile.

Confusion apparent, Josh turned to Riley. "What's the question?"

Isadora looked up from her textbook, "You have to describe the person to your left using a song title."

He didn't know which of the young adults that bookended him started humming, but it was Maya that picked up the chorus. "I'm so addicted to all the things you do." He rolled his eyes at her, not bothering to hide his grin.

"Josh?" Riley leaned forward to steal some of Farkle's gummy worms.

Maya's eyes were on his now, and Josh had to stop to actually consider his answer. There were many ways that he could take it. Lucas seemed to be referring to both lyrical content and the title itself. He also couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed at the younger man's assessment. The question then became what song he would use to describe Maya to someone else. Then he realized he was overthinking it. "Jacob Whitesides," He smiled over at her, reminded of one of the artists that she'd introduced him to. "Not My Type at All."

Someone laughed when Maya's face fell before her eyes swept up between her lashes and he could swear she winked at him. "Break my heart, why don't you?" She almost shouted, clutching her heart and falling into Riley and Will.

"Eh," Josh was unsympathetic. "You'll live."

Maya rolled her eyes at him and then stopped holding herself upright so Will had no choice but to shift his hips so they all didn't roll onto the floor. "And it's not really fair to require me to narrow down all my feelings for Riley with just one song."

"Thems be the rules, Peaches!" Will nudged her off of him with his knee, and Maya flopped forward onto Josh before she could regain her balance.

"Fire and Gold." She said quickly, "Bea Miller."

There was a noise in the back of Riley's throat. It served as little warning before Riley launched herself at her best friend, knocking them back into Josh. "I love you too!"

"Good afternoon passengers," the overhead speaker cut off whatever Maya had said back, and Josh watched Zay perk up. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is the pre-boarding announcement for United – Lufthansa flight 474 to Paris, with service continuing on to Venice." Riley pulled herself off of Maya now, reaching for the wall to help steady herself. "We are now inviting those passengers traveling with small children, and any passenger requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time." A look was shared all around, and Zay pulled his headphone case from his pack to start putting his things away. "Please have your boarding passes and identification ready. We will begin regular boarding, starting with our first class and priority members shortly. Thank you."

Will shoved his latest magazine purchase into his pack and thumbed open his phone, pulling up the United app. "Is this the part where I tell everyone I want an aisle seat during take-off?"

That prompted Josh to pull up his own app, noticing that he had actually been assigned an aisle seat for the first leg of the journey. "I'm sure we can swap around once we get on the plane." The only two people guaranteed to actually have the seats they wanted, were Farkle and Isadora, and that was because they had been the ones to plan out the travel arrangements.

"I want a window!" Zay popped up, reaching to help Lucas off the floor. "I plan on sleeping the entire way there." He seemed proud of himself. Then again, it was an eight-hour flight to Paris, and another hour to Venice after their layover. "My Mama says it's the best way to combat jetlag."

"Are you sure she wasn't just trying to help us combat murdering you, mid-flight?" Maya allowed herself to be pulled into a backward hug after she'd said it, and Josh took a moment to notice that she was incredibly short against everyone without her heels on.

He wondered if she'd actually packed any.

Babineaux dropped his head onto Maya's and wrapped both arms around her. "How'd you get so far in life being a tiny little fluff ball of rage?"

The blonde just plucked the ball cap off of his head, pulling it down over her brow as she used Lucas to help her extradite herself. "It's a skill."

Lucas picked that moment to reach for Maya's carry-on, slinging it up onto his shoulder. "If you murder him," he started off sweetly. The shorter blonde stepped back into him with a frown. "Then you learned Italian for nothing."

"You make a very convincing argument, Friar." Maya tilted her head up, and Josh held his breath when Lucas met her halfway. Their foreheads bumped, and then the taller man nudged her temple with his chin. "Okay!" Maya announced, breaking contact and finally pulling her bag open to find her phone. "Zay gets to live!"

There was another ding above them, and Zay's cheer was cut off but the gate attendant. "Attention ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the boarding process for United – Lufthansa flight 474 to Paris, with service continuing on to Venice." Will helped Riley with her bag and Maya hopped up next to her best friend, arms automatically wrapping around each other. "We would like to begin with our first class and priority passengers."

Again, Farkle took the lead, stepping up to the gate agent with his phone and his passport. There was a moment before Isadora cut in front of Will, wrapping an arm around the genius and snuggling into his back. Zay stepped in between Riley and Will when he noticed that he was the only one who hadn't made it into the line they'd started. Riley laughed, Maya pulled the brunette backward so neither of them would get stepped on, and Lucas shoved him out of the way to take his place.

It was entirely possible that Josh had just witnessed the embodiment of how this trip was going to shape up to be in three minutes before they'd even gotten on the plane.

And then they stepped onto the ramp.

Farkle took two steps to the side the second they cleared the gate, not even letting go of Isadora as Riley and Maya pushed past the two other men and sprinted down the jet-way. They were squealing and laughing even as the brunette came up short and the blonde slammed into her anyway, both girls reaching for the other's purse to make sure that neither one had lost anything in the collision. There wasn't a single person who wasn't laughing when Riley started groping her sides because she'd forgotten that she wasn't holding her purse.

Will let her freak out for exactly fifteen seconds before holding it up for her.

"We have pods!" Zay couldn't keep it in when they stepped into the first class cabin, skipping down the aisle. "Look at 'em! Pods!"

And it was true, to an extent.

There were two seats per row on each side of the aisle. Each seat had its own arm and footrests, as well as a small partition to make ignoring your seatmate easier.

Josh did a quick count, surprised to discover that there were only sixteen seats total in first class.

"We officially take up half of this part of the cabin." It was Will that actually said it, stopping next to the row at the very front, popping open the overhead compartment and slipping his laptop bag in along with one of Riley's two carry-ons. He made sure to grab a bottle from the side pocket before stepping back to let the brunette ruffle through her bag, though, and Josh really hoped that Maya would curb her urge to pick on him during the flight. Poor kid had signed up for an international trip with his girlfriend while being terrified of flying.

Zay checked his phone to make sure they were in the same two rows and then popped the overhead compartment behind Farkle, shoving his bag in it and grabbing for his headphones and his charger. "And we have pods!" He skirted past Lucas, who was stowing his own bag, and dropped himself into the window seat behind Farkle. "This one's mine!"

"If he passes out before take-off, can I have his dinner?" Maya grabbed the bottle of water that Riley was holding out for her as she dropped her purse in the window seat behind Riley and Will. Lucas dropped his headphones and his tablet into the seat next to Zay, shaking his head. "What?"

"Because no one thought to grab snacks that were low in sugar and salt so you wouldn't gnaw someone's arm off." Farkle tossed a green food storage bin across the aisle, and Josh caught it and handed it off to keep it from hitting her.

Maya shook the frozen grapes with gusto. "I _still_ want his dessert!" She shouted out, daring anyone to question her.

A travel pillow was thrown behind Josh's back, and Lucas handed him a second one after Maya had retrieved the first. "You sure you don't want to sit next to Zay?" The younger man offered.

He considered his options for a moment, knowing that he could probably even ask Riley to switch with him if he felt like it. Will might look like he was going to jump out of his skin, but he'd still be a pretty decent seatmate. And then Maya pulled her sandals off, tucking them in her bag and the bag under the seat even as she pulled a pair of socks out. She had absolutely no idea that she looked like a little kid who had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and all she was doing was making herself more comfortable.

"I think I'll be okay." Riley popped up over the back of her chair, and the hand Josh was reaching for the blonde with changed directions, thumbing the plastic cover off of the power port between their seats. "I reserve the right to change my mind."

Smackle handed Will a soda, and Lucas watched her and Farkle change seats before they settled. "Something tells me we're in for a few rounds of musical chairs."

A hand came up from the other side of Lucas, clamping over his mouth. "Could ya keep it down?" Zay asked with a huff. "I'm trying to get to sleep. It's an eight-hour flight, and I'm gonna sleep for seven of 'em!"

The two on the aisle shrugged to each other. Maybe keeping Maya from threatening him was a bit premature.


	27. Interlude: Traveling Light

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,817  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Deplaning at Charles de Gaulle had actually been less nerve-wracking than anyone had anticipated. While they'd had to leave the aircraft so the flight crew could clean the cabin, since they were to be back on the plane in an hour, the new lead attendant had told them to just go ahead and leave their bags in the overhead. And since Zay and Will had slept through the morning meal service, their first order of business had been to locate sustenance

After they'd found a small bistro not far from the gate –and Farkle, Maya, and Lucas had procured food since they were the only ones that spoke French fluently- it was only a short wait before they were back in their seats, fully caffeinated. Isadora spent the next ten minutes attempting to explain why they hadn't had to go through passport control while in Paris to a group that was trying their hardest not to fall asleep.

At least until Riley came back from the bathroom and wondered aloud how having sex in there was physically possible.

Whereas they had traded seats no less than four times in the last eight hours, Maya had been perfectly fine to practically lay in Josh's lap after Riley had taken Lucas's seat –the Texan regulated to the window on the other side of Will- to delight in the turn of conversation.

"I don't think I need _that_ much detail." Riley cut Maya off mid-word.

The blonde huffed. "You can't ask a question like that and expect me to _not_ try to answer it!"

The young serviceman in the seat behind Riley smirked at them both.

Josh wondered just how much trouble he'd get into if he subtly dropped his hand to Maya's rear to get the guy to stop trying to look down her camisole. As usual, the blonde didn't even seem to notice the attention she was garnering.

"It just _sounds_ uncomfortable." Riley pulled her cardigan around herself and shook her head.

"It isn't if you do it correctly."

All eyes were on Smackle now, and Farkle suddenly became extremely interested in the textbook in his bag on the floor mumbling something about 'oversharing.'

Maya whistled, "Way to go Minkus!" She clapped. "You _actually_ have a checkmark on your bucket list I don't!"

As hard as he tried, Will couldn't stop himself from spitting his coffee all over the wall in front of him. "She does this shit on purpose," he informed the group, nodding his thanks to the flight attendant that brought him more paper towels. "Why would you say that out loud?"

But the blonde didn't seem to care. "Was it this flight?" Smackle's eyes widened and Farkle forgot to breathe. "Wait, you both went to St. Tropez during Christmas break."

" _Please_ make her stop talking." It was Will begging, and Lucas just laughed next to him. Zay had leaned all the way forward in his seat, trying to talk to Farkle.

Josh shifted in his seat, dropping his lips to Maya's ear when she popped up to try to come up with something to shift the focus away from the poor genius.

"You're being awfully quiet, Josh." Lucas erupted again and Josh cursed. That was far from what he'd had in mind. Her smile brightened when she seemed to realize this. "What's the status of _your_ membership in the Mile High Club?"

"Nonexistent." Josh wrapped his arm around the blonde, shifting her around to where she was sitting on his lap, not laying across it. "I have never had sex on an airplane."

"Have you wanted to?"

And the landmine was firmly placed in front of him. Josh knew that his next few sentences would have to be extremely careful. This was a conversation that would probably be a hell of a lot easier if they didn't have an audience. "I'm a twenty-two-year-old male," he started. "If I told you I hadn't thought of it, I'd be lying."

Maya rotated her hips, eyes lighting up. "Recently?"

"That's a dangerous question." He muttered under his breath, trying very hard not glance in Riley's direction.

"I thought it was pretty straightforward."

Twelve other people in the first class cabin and Josh's awareness started and stopped with the person on his lap. He didn't see the way Lucas threw a cautious glance over the seat, or how Zay's eyes lit up like it was Christmas. He just barely missed the way Riley was watching them cautiously as if the likelihood of Maya deciding to pummel him to death was just as possible as them kissing. Both options seemed to amuse her, especially since both her best friend and her uncle were both extremely calm.

"If I say 'yes'," Josh slid his hand around her back, using her cardigan as cover to brush his thumb against her skin. "Then you're going to accuse me of fantasizing about you." He forced his eyes away from hers in order to gauge everyone else's reactions. "If I say 'no'," and here was where he had to choose his words very carefully. "Then I'm stuck next to you for the next hour while you complain –loudly- that I don't find you attractive." Will laughed and Lucas seemed to nod along with his assessment. "For the sake of everyone's sanity, I'm going to say that I have yet to get the urge to defile an airplane bathroom in the last 10 hours, and ask one of the lovely attendants for a beer." Maya's mouth opened, and Josh pulled his hand from her back to pop it closed again. "And you have about fifty-seven minutes before you can legally drink, so I'm not buying you one too."

Apparently, that had been the right answer. Maya laughed as she shook her head, nudging him with her knee. "Then you're switching seats with Riley." She demanded, giving him a push as she slipped back into her own chair. "And grab my bag while you're up." Maya gave him a quick wink as he turned to comply with her demand. "Please."

* * *

Herding eight people through Passport Control and Customs at Marco Polo International went so much more smoothly than trying to get them through American airport security. There was no joking about drug smuggling, no grab ass or other shenanigans. Riley and Zay raced each other to the water taxi stand while Maya hopped on Lucas's back and Farkle carried Isadora's bags. The more Josh watched the seven of them, the more he wondered why Cory had been so scared to let them out on their own.

And then Babineaux almost fell over the side of the water taxi, and Maya flicked water all over Will because he was whispering sweet nothings in Riley's ear, and Josh wondered how they would have handled the trip if Farkle wasn't there to corral them all.

The Hotel Dalieli was on the other side of the cluster of islands, and their driver bantered back and forth with Riley and Maya to understand that this was their spring holiday and they were in the city for the first time so they were taken down the Grand Canal instead of around the collection.

Everyone seemed to take the trip in their own style, Farkle with his camera in his hand, capturing videos of everything as they sailed down the Canal. He even turned the camera on the ship a few times, catching a smile or a laugh. He still hadn't let go of Isadora since they'd deplaned, something Maya had discreetly gotten a few shots of. Zay was smiling at any and every woman they had the opportunity to pass, age most decidedly not a factor, and Lucas leaned against the bow of the taxi, taking quick snaps with his phone when he wasn't gaping at the Canal. Riley and Will were sharing a seat, almost entirely wrapped around each other, and Maya reclined in her own –feet propped in Lucas's lap- seeming to take in everything and nothing all at the same time.

"Holy shit."

They hadn't made it all the way into the hotel lobby, rather, arriving by private boat dock that allowed them to step directly into the hotel. Even from the end of the hallway, the opulent marble, Murano glass, and rich tapestries called to them. When they stepped into the grand room, Zay turned in a full circle taking in the wealth. They had come a long way from the hostels that Josh had enjoyed when him and a few high school buddies backpacked Germany at the end of their Senior year.

Farkle and Isadora left them gaping in the middle of the lobby to check in, which Josh supposed would go easier if there weren't six other people offering their input. They milled about for three or four minutes while Farkle dealt with the counter –which probably would have taken longer if his last name weren't Minkus- before the genius kissed his girlfriend on the cheek as she spoke to the attendant, heading back to the group.

"We've got four rooms," Farkle said after a moment, juggling room keys, brochures and amenities envelopes. Isadora was receiving her own room key behind them, and Josh thought it went without saying that technically they had five. "All of them are technically singles," he explained carefully, "but as soon as we figure out who's where, they'll bring up extra beds."

"Maya and I won't need one!" Riley snatched a random envelope out of Farkle's hand, she pulled two keys out of it, slipping one to her best friend. They'd share beds multiple times over the course of their friendship, there was no reason to waste a trundle if they didn't have to.

Maya's eyes shifted to Riley smoothly. Josh wasn't sure what it was she saw, but it bothered her.

Then he was handed his own envelope, with two keys already in it. That meant he wasn't expected to room with anyone. It made sense; other than the fact that he and Riley shared blood, there was absolutely no reason why he would be a possible candidate for sharing a room. An envelope was passed to Lucas, who took a key and handed it to Zay, and Farkle didn't even bother taking a key of his own before handing the remaining envelope to Will.

Josh caught the look that Farkle and Maya shared when Zay asked why Will was handed an envelope with two keys as well.

"Farkle's rooming with Isadora," Ten minutes later and Josh was following the girls down the hall to their rooms. The valet had brought their suitcases up as soon as Isadora had her key, and they had opted for the stairs to the second floor to fully appreciate the hotel. He wondered if he should tell her that her version of whispering was ineffective.

"You figured that out, too?" Maya's voice was soft, and more than a little playful.

Riley waited until the blonde popped the lock on their suite before glancing down the hall in the direction they had left the guys. "Will's got his own room."

Suddenly her adamance about them not needing a trundle bed was glaringly apparent.

He could hear the laughter in Maya's voice as she kicked her carry on into the room. "Which means we haven't even set our bags down, and you're trying to weasel out of our roomie arrangement?" Josh popped the lock on his own door before glancing over his shoulder to watch Maya hold the door in place with her foot until the magnet on the doorstop clicked. He knew it was instinct that had Maya throwing a glance to him across the hall before sliding her large suitcase to the floor and throwing herself on the bed.

Riley stood in the center of the room and fidgeting with the strap of her tote. "I want to be your roomie!" The brunette insisted. "I do!" She turned then, and Josh took a quick step forward in an attempt to not be seen. "But Will and I don't get the time together you and I do, and we've been talking about it, and we've never shared a room before, and–"

"There are one too many conjunctions in that sentence, honey." Maya was sitting up now, elbows on her knees. "You want to sleep with Will," Josh didn't think that Maya's smile could get any bigger. "I get it."

"It's not about sex!" And Josh wasn't sure whether he was incredibly amused or mortified that he was in the position to listen to this conversation. "We haven't-"

Maya cut her off with another glance in his direction, shaking her head slightly. "You are under no contractual obligation to finish that sentence." It was probably for the best that she had noticed that Riley wasn't as quiet as the brunette thought she was. "I am also well versed in the concept that sex and intimacy aren't mutually exclusive." She shifted then, her eyes softening. "If you want to sleep with the boy –in any form of the word- I'm the last one to stop you."

There were a few deep breaths, and Riley seemed more than a little relieved. She fingered the strap of her bag and glanced around the room.

"We can't tell Uncle Josh."

Maya's snort was loud, and when Josh thought it was safe to peek she was wiping her mouth with one hand, water bottle dangling precariously in the other. She didn't spare him a look, choosing instead to shake her head at his niece. "You really think _Josh_ is going to judge you?"

Riley took a step forward, then back. "No, not judge…" She bit her lip. "But if he accidently says something to Dad, or –even Grandma or Grandpa–"

Another soft laugh and Maya pulled herself off of the bed, setting her bottle down and curling her arms around her best friend. "I think you underestimate Josh's ability to keep a secret." She was looking over Riley's shoulder now, across the hall and directly to where he was perched on the desk in his own room.

There was a lot left unsaid in their glance. Josh was actually struck by the fact that Maya had stepped up to defend him when Riley was hesitant. Even after the last three months, he would have thought that it would have been the other way around.

Riley fidgeted with the hem of her shirt and when Maya broke his gaze, leaning her head on the brunette's shoulder. "But I can go distract him while you move your things into the other room if you'd like."

Riley's arms were around her again, squeezing tightly. "Thank you, Peaches."

Maya kissed her best friend on the cheek before pulling back. "You owe me," she decided quickly. "And I will collect."

She didn't bother to slip back into her sandals, flipping her braid over her shoulder and skipping across the hallway. Then there were three rapid taps against the partially open door.

"Yo, Matthews." It was loud, probably a little too loud, and Maya threw a glance over her shoulder before kicking the doorstop to close the door.

Josh met her halfway, hands slipping across her sides to pull her against his chest. "You're here to distract me?"

Her head cocked to the side and Maya nipped his jaw. "How long do you think will be sufficient?"

"Not long enough for what you have in mind." He took a step back, aiming for the desk he had been sitting on. "I did want to give you this, though." Josh reached behind him and grabbed at the envelope Farkle had handed him downstairs. It took him a minute to find the key in the brochures, but he passed it across to her without explanation.

Maya's smile was crooked as she flipped it over in her hands. "Your room does have a balcony," she reasoned, stepping up to him and dropping her head on his chest. "I'd go back to trying to kiss you," a nod and Josh already knew where this was going. "But it's getting close to lunch time, and I'm kinda hungry."

"You're gonna need shoes," Josh nodded to Maya's feet and shook his head. "But if you promise to behave, I'll treat you to lunch at the Terrazza Danieli."

The signs for the roof terrace had been almost everywhere on the ground floor, and Josh had seen at least one brochure in the packet that Farkle had handed to him. He wasn't sure what kind of fare they offered, but it had to be enough to tide Maya over until the group had taken what naps they needed and decided to get on with the rest of their day.

Maya gave herself a quick once-over, and he knew that a request to let her change her clothes was eminent. "Do you think they have tiramisù?"

* * *

"Did either of you happen to pack duct tape?"

Lucas dropped himself down on the bench beside Maya on the terrace. They had all been well on their way to settling in at the hotel. Farkle and Isadora had retreated to their suite, the former emerging an hour later to announce his girlfriend was recharging her batteries. It was entirely possible that the promise of the Piazza San Marco and shopping once they all regrouped was the only thing keeping those that weren't sleeping in the hotel.

On reflex, Josh sent a quick look to Maya. "Didn't think it would make it through security."

"They weren't keen on the handcuffs."

Lucas blatantly ignored Maya's quirked brow and tired smile. "Well, I need to find some because it's the only way I'm going to make it through sharing a room with him."

No one had to ask which 'him' Lucas was referring to. Not only had he won Zay as a roommate by default, but the man in question hadn't stopped speaking since they had deplaned at Marco Polo. It seemed that napping for the entire flight was an excellent way to combat jetlag. Maya spared a glance over to where Farkle and Will were conversing over a guidebook, neither of them looking as wrecked as anyone else felt either.

The only actual question on everyone's lips was where Lucas had managed to leave their friend.

"He's putting that mouth to good use," the blonde said, before realizing exactly what it sounded like he was implying. "He promised his mama he'd call every day."

It was too late for Maya to stifle her giggle. "Totally not where I thought you were going with that one," she admitted behind her hand.

"Ha Hurr," Lucas dropped his shoulder and knocked into the shorter blonde. "I'm so glad you're taking this moment to enjoy my pain." Maya's laughter stopped, or at least it was now muffled between gritted teeth and closed lips, and Josh threw the younger man an apologetic smile. "That doesn't help me figure out a way to shut him up so I can get a damn nap,"

Josh smiled when Maya's eyes lit up and they both realized that he had managed to say the magic word.

"I'll do you one better," rolling her hips to get to her back pocket, Maya fished the envelopes that held her room keys. She flipped them over until she could read the words printed on the bottom. "Riley's in Will's room," she dropped her voice conspiratorially, "So you can just take ours for the night." If he didn't already find the number of lies by omission that Maya seemed to keep piling up incredibly amusing, now would be the time that Lucas would start to laugh. "I'll just grab Riley's key when she gets up from her nap."

His eyes cut to Josh, who thumbed through his phone nonplussed. "You do realize that the second you ask for that key, everyone is going to assume that you and I are now sharing a room?"

Maya didn't blink. "What everyone thought didn't bother you this much when we were _having_ sex." She said slowly, eye cast over to the other side of the terrace. "And we're not telling them that-"

"We're just not correcting them when they tell _us_ that." Lucas rolled his eyes. "Have we discussed the carpooling to Hell situation? Or is that also on your to-do list?"

"I could _actually_ sleep in there with you if it'll make you feel better." Lucas wasn't sure whether or not he was surprised by the lack of response on Josh's face. The older man had yet to look up from checking his emails. "I won't promise that you'll sleep better, but at least your conscious will be clear."

Lucas took his newly acquired key, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and slipping into the slot opposite where he kept the key to his and Zay's room. "I think my conscious will be fine." He decided after a moment. Josh watched him swallow before nodding. Although they had slept together for the better part of a year and a half, he was willing to bet that it would probably be a little different sharing a bed when she was technically with someone else. "Do you need to get your bag?"

Maya shrugged, "Eventually."

"Have you given any thought to what you're gonna tell Riley if she discovers you're not in your room?"

Josh watched Maya actually considering it for a moment. "Please," her phone dropped onto the table with a laugh. "The day I can't handle Riley Matthews, I will no longer be Maya Hart." The brunette in question hopped onto the terrace then, ordering a drink from a passing waiter before floating over to them. She threw a quick smile to her boyfriend and Farkle and then appropriated the other half of the bench Maya was on. "I need your key to our room." The blonde threw out plainly.

"What happened to your key?" It escaped no one's notice that Riley was already digging her wallet out of her purse to hand over the aforementioned item.

A quick nod to Lucas and Maya smiled. "Huckleberry rethought his sleeping arrangements," Maya threw out casually. "Apparently, our room is preferable to a night with Zay." Both men were suitably impressed. Fifteen words and Maya had managed to not lie to her best friend once.

Riley just shook her head, handing the plastic card to her best friend. "I see you got over –" The brunette's eyes went wide as she glanced from her uncle to the blonde.

That's when it occurred to Josh that not once did Maya mention the fact that Riley wasn't sleeping in the room with her since Riley hit the terrace.

Rolling her eyes, Maya just laid a hand on her friend's thigh. "Jet lag's a bitch," she started, giving Riley her out. "But your uncle's promised to keep me in caffeine and gelato, and I've promised not to murder anyone on our first day abroad."

"That's extremely magnanimous of you." Riley agreed, dropping her wallet back into her purse.

The noise that came from the blonde's mouth was noncommittal. "I am a giver." She announced, reaching for her oversized mug.

* * *

They were half an hour into shopping –four hours after the plane touched down in Venice- when Maya came to a sudden stop in front of a stall, eyes catching Josh's.

"Are you humming?"

The answer was a resounding 'yes', but Josh wasn't going to give it to her easily. "Humming?" He tossed a glance over to Riley, who'd been joined to Maya's hip. "Was I humming?"

Riley pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, studying her uncle. "There was humming." She seemed to agree.

Josh just shrugged, moving away from the girls and closer to one of the other stalls in the open air market. In truth, he had absolutely no idea why it was that Hunter Hayes's 'Secret Love' had been stuck in his head since they'd left the hotel. It hadn't been on the radio, nor had any of his companions played it since they left New York. The last time he'd actually heard it was a few weeks ago when it had shown up on Austin's Spotify and his roommate had taken it upon himself to blast it through the television's surround sound.

"You're still doing it."

Josh damn near jumped out of his skin when he realized that Maya was directly behind him. He cast a glance around the market, noting that Riley was still by the stand with the silk scarves with Farkle and Isadora; Lucas and Zay still MIA. "What do I have to do to get you to never do that again?"

Her eyebrow cocked, and Maya shifted her weight on the wedged sandals she had settled on when she'd changed before lunch. "I was going to say I'm sorry," she laced her arm through his and took a step forward to look at the fruit in front of them. "But now that we're bargaining."

And the melody was back, mocking him with the fact that he had to fight to keep his features bored at the prospect that Maya had apprehended him. _Gotta wear this mask for just long enough._ Had he started humming again? The next time his roommate did this to him, Josh just might actually kill the man.

"To get away from all the eyes that stare us down." Maya picked up the melody now, head slanted to the side as she glanced at him over her shoulder. "'Secret Love'." Josh counted himself lucky that she was smiling now. "Cute."

"I'm blaming Austin." Josh watched as the blonde turned her attention to the stall owner, buying a bottle of water and a bag of grapes with a smile.

She tucked the bottle into her bag and popped a grape in her mouth. "Convenient," Maya agreed. "I can hum 'the song that drives you insane' if it'll help." It wouldn't, Josh knew that he would just wind up with some weird mash-up if she tried it. "But I would strongly recommend you stop singing songs about secret relationships."

"Would it bother you if I didn't?" Josh stole a grape, following her lead back to where the group was stopped in front of a shop window. They had picked Lucas and Zay back up somewhere, the former trying to keep the latter from wandering back off toward a group of girls.

They were standing too close to the group for her to answer, but Josh knew that retribution was most likely coming.

"I went ahead and got us reservations at Ristorante Quadri for tonight." Farkle had his phone in one hand, iPad mini in the other, and it took just a step forward before he realized that the tablet had the menu displayed should anyone need it. "We're supposed to be at the dock for the gondolas at eight, so I scheduled us two and a half hours for food."

Zay popped up behind Farkle, reaching for the tablet. "This is the only day you've timed out our moves, right?" He shook his head when Farkle swallowed. "Man, do you even know the definition of 'vacation'?"

"We're visiting four of the most historic cities in Western Europe," the genius didn't falter. "I wanted to make sure we all got to appreciate that." When Maya smothered her laugh against Lucas's shoulder, Riley rolled her eyes. "And no one has to do anything they don't want to."

The tablet was passed across the huddle, and Zay shook his head. "Why didn't I just go to Ibiza with the frat when I had the chance?"

"None of them would pay your bail," Will threw out quickly.

"And the likelihood of us letting it get that far in the first place is slim." Isadora nodded, casting a glance around the group and smiled. "Well, most of us."

Maya stuck her tongue out at the raven haired girl. "I wouldn't let Zay get arrested." Will coughed, and she reached for the tablet. "Alone." She amended. "What's for dinner?"

It had to be noted that Josh was a few steps behind Riley, and unable to see Maya's face clearly. Or at least that's what he told himself when he forced himself not to push past his niece when the blonde's shoulders stiffened. Her head cocked awkwardly to the left. Lucas must have felt it too, the Texan stepping forward and relieving her of the tablet –passing it behind his back to Riley, who was most definitely expecting it- dropping his lips to her ear.

"I don't mean to alarm anyone," Maya seemed to be completely ignoring whatever it was that Lucas had said. "But there's a salad on that menu that's more than a week's worth of tips," Riley's mouth opened, and Maya shook her head. "If I'm lucky."

"It's not that bad," the brunette jumped in. Josh held his hand out for the tablet and it was distractedly handed it over.

"Not that bad?" Maya ran a hand over her face and turned to her best friend. "45 euro is roughly 50 USD." She physically pointed out. "Fifty dollars for a _salad_." Lucas's hand on her back seemed to remind her that they were in the middle of the street.

Collectively the group glanced at each other, Josh didn't have to ask what they were thinking.

Unfortunately, neither did Maya. "Who's the idiot that didn't think I knew the exchange rate?" Maya lifted her gaze from the cobblestones to glare at her friends. "Anyone gonna fess up to this one?"

While Isadora and Will seemed to think that this was a matter best dealt internally –and by internally they meant by whoever had been dumb enough to think a tantrum wasn't imminent, and therefore not them- Farkle threw a quick look to Lucas.

"I thought you cleared this?" He asked without actually looking at Maya again.

"'Cleared' what?" The blonde pushed herself up to her full height.

Lucas gave a minute shake before sharing a look with Riley. "We hadn't covered meals yet."

"Yet?" Josh really hoped that he had been imagining that Maya's voice had risen an octave. Lucas's hand rose steadily to her shoulder, and Maya shuttered violently. "And we're not 'covering' anything." She took a calming breath. "I could have sworn that there was some sort of agreement made when I said I'd come. You know, the one where I shouldn't have to remind you that I have worked my ass off for this trip, and I would greatly appreciate being able to pay my own way."

It was official, Josh decided as he watched the kids eye each other, no one had any idea what the best course of action was for this situation.

But Maya still wasn't done. "The only thing I asked, and I do mean _only_ , was that you guys remembered that my budget was slightly different than yours because my trip isn't being sponsored by my parents."

Lucas's jaw popped, and Maya ignored Riley's apologetic scowl. Josh comforted himself with the fact that she wasn't entirely wrong.

"I'm sorry," the blonde threaded her hand into her hair, tugging at the tangles and tossing it over her shoulder when she gave up. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay!" Riley was the first to jump to her best friend, offering a smile and an arm around her shoulder. "We shouldn't have sprung this on you." Riley gave the group a hopeful smile. Yes, Maya had had an outburst, but she'd been one of the only ones of them to not get a nap once they'd touched down. And everyone was still alive. They would just have to tread a bit lighter; make sure the lines of communication were open before they made any more plans. "We'll get a little food in your belly, go for the gondola ride, and then you and I can find something on pay per view."

The blonde took a step back and shook her head. "I think I'm just gonna head back to the hotel."

No one moved.

Riley shifted quickly, eyes going to Lucas again. Everyone seemed to be able to clearly hear her mentally shout 'do something' in his general direction.

"Come on, Shortstack." The Texan stepped up to the blonde now, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and turning her away from the rest of the group. Josh couldn't hear what he mumbled next.

"Seriously," Maya repeated, shaking her head. "I'm agitated and bitchy, and you guys don't deserve this right now." She patted the taller man on the cheek and did her best to smile. "I'll just go and order room service and see you all in the morning."

She was three steps away before Josh caught Lucas's eye. "You want me to try?"

"Quadri is to the left if you're facing the Basilica." Farkle informed him. The apprehension on Riley's face stating that she didn't want to leave.

Josh nodded, clapping Lucas on the back as he left the group and followed in the direction that the blonde had gone. He really didn't expect her to be as quick as she was. "Maya!"

"I'm pretty sure I was speaking English." Maya huffed, wrapping her arms around herself. "Do you want me to try it in Italian?" A pause and then, "Andrò e il Servizio in camera e tutti voi vedo al mattino."

Wrapping an arm around her waist, Josh pulled her back into him. "You're forgetting your stuff's in my room, Gorgeous." He dropped his chin onto her curls and smiled into the scent of cinnamon. "I'm also not about to let you walk back to the hotel alone."

Her scowl broke then, and he could feel her relax into him. "It's not even six blocks." She coughed. "I travel father by myself in the city every day."

Josh was really hoping that she hadn't been paying attention to their general location. "If chivalry is dead, I think it's because you killed it." He amended, spinning her around when they reached a side street and pressing her back against the wall of a building. "You had no problem with me buying you lunch," while it wasn't how he'd planned to reconnect the subject, the way her eyes unfocused told him that blunt was probably best. "Why the tantrum because Farkle was gonna cover dinner?"

"Did you know about the reservations?" She countered.

"I asked you first."

Maya's jaw flexed as he watched her assess whether or not he would be able to out-stubborn her this evening. "I wasn't even considered when Farkle made the plan." She fussed after a minute, leaning back against the wall behind her. The hand fiddling with her bangles shifted to the front of his shirt. "He just went and did it. And Ristorante Quadri? The cheapest dessert on their menu is twenty-five dollars!"

"Twenty-four ninety-five," Josh corrected reflexively. Maya rolled her eyes. "And you're forgetting something extremely important here."

Another huff, "What's that?"

"He didn't consider the rest of us either." Josh took a step back, stooping to look her in the eye. "Did you not hear him when he told us? He 'took the liberty of'." There was a quick flash of relief, and Maya seemed to deflate. "I'm no expert in Farkle Minkus, but I think that him picking the restaurant meant that he was fully prepared to treat _anyone_ who thought that fifty-five dollars is a bit much for a plate of risotto. And if it makes you feel better, I'll pick up your check. I'm sure you can find a way to pay me back."

The only acknowledgment that she gave his last comment was a shift of her eyebrows. "The last time I even considered spending that much on dinner was–" Her voice trailed off.

"Was?"

"Hamilton." She laughed. "You swooped in there too."

"Perhaps you've never heard of the Matthews 'damsels in distress' complex?" Josh had never been more relieved to get a smile before. "And you're worth it."

Maya's smile was slow, and if Josh wasn't imagining things, a little bit sad. "You keep saying that, Matthews, and one of these days I may actually believe you."

It was impulse that brought Josh's hand up to cradle the back of her neck, and bring her lips up to his. After all, there was no way that he could possibly utter what had actually come to mind. Instead, he let his tongue do the talking for him, sweeping past her lips and pushing her further into the wall, his other hand skimming the hem of the mini dress she'd threw over a pair of leggings. Josh subconsciously considered trying to slide that hand up her thigh before forcing it to join his other hand, his thumb running over her collarbone.

There was a breath when he actually forgot that he was supposed to be talking her into joining them for dinner. Where he didn't care that there were six other people in their group. The only plan he was really interested in was getting the blonde in his arms back to his suite where he didn't have to worry about being interrupted of making sure he said the right thing.

But Josh wasn't the selfish one in their relationship.

His resolve jerked at her groan when he pulled away.

"You're in the wrong line of work," she muttered more to herself, a trembling hand coming up to brush the bright red of her lip gloss off his bottom lip.

"While prostitution is legal and regulated in eight of the countries of the EU, Italy is not one of them." And no, Josh had no idea why that was the first thing out of his mouth.

Maya's laugh was almost worth it. "Not what I meant," she whispered between breaths. "And how the hell do you know about legal prostitution in the European Union?"

"It's _amazing_ the kind of things you can find when you're awake and bored at three in the morning." Josh didn't mention that this had only been a few days ago. Maya had had a canvas due to one of her professors, a paper due as a midterm for another, and it was the longest they'd slept apart since Christmas. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but without a blonde to curl back into –or to wake up and exhaust himself with again- sleep hadn't come easily, and he'd found himself absorbed in useless Google searches and click bait until his alarm had gone off so he could start his day. "And what did you mean?"

Her hair shook as she laughed, and Maya tasseled it behind her, in order to return it to its original style. "Your idea was better." She decided with a smile.

Once she had officially righted herself, Josh took a step back, holding an arm out. "Are you ready to agree to go to dinner?"

"Can I convince you to sit next to me?"

His refusal to answer the question didn't stop her from taking his arm. They were back out of the side street and headed in the direction of the Plaza when he finally coughed. "I don't think that would be in anyone's best interest."

Maya spun on her heel, transitioning to walking backward with an ease that Josh didn't think anyone else would be able to master. "I don't think I care tonight."

He dipped her for another kiss, earning a 'whoop' from one of the vendors behind them. "Come i miei comandi signora."

"I thought you didn't speak Italian?" She was still facing him, one hand on his forearm as she steered her through the street.

"I don't," Josh confirmed, shaking his head. "But I may have looked up one or two phrases."

"Only one or two?"

He spun her around, one hand steady on her hip, and she was about to protest before she realized they were approaching the Plaza, and therefore the restaurant. "I can also ask for a beer and where to find the bathroom."

Farkle looked up from where he seemed to be guarding one very large table on the patio when Maya laughed, clapping her hands together. "Only the important ones then?" She didn't bother with the door, stepping over the small chain strung around the restaurant's patio.

Josh held her seat out for her, dropping down into the one next to it and hoping he hadn't just stolen someone's chair. When Isadora and Riley returned from the bathroom, squealing over the fact that Maya had decided to join them, and Zay and Lucas from the bar, Josh sat back and watched the table with a smile.

 _If nobody knows then we're doing it right._

"I can still stab you with my fork." Maya caught him off guard, smiling around her wine glass.

"Seriously, stop humming."


	28. Interlude: She Keeps Me Warm

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,212  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

There's a tug in the back of his mind as Josh slowly emerges from the clutches of sleep. The clock on the nightstand announcing that it's not even five in the morning. He doesn't have to look over a fluff of blonde hair to see it though, which short circuits his brain for about six seconds.

They'd made it back from the gondola ride sometime around ten, Riley practically hanging off of her boyfriend as he tried not to pick her up and Lucas giving Maya a piggy back ride, and no one had thought twice about going to their separate rooms and succumbing to the sleep they all so desperately needed. Lucas had taken his time getting up the stairs with Maya, which meant that Will had only been able to give Riley time for a quick 'goodnight Neverland' before he pushed the door to their room shut behind her, secret room swap be damned.

Josh had helped Lucas get the door to his room open before Maya dropped off of his back, and she kissed the Texan on the cheek before grabbing her rolling suitcase and slipping back out the door. He would admit that he probably stood there longer than necessary, staring at the blonde in hopes that he understood what kind of etiquette this kind of situation required.

He'd expected to wander back into his room to discover the blonde pulling on her flannel sleep pants, or maybe already curled into the pillows on the left side of the bed like she did in his apartment. Maya gaining her second wind -or was she on her fourth or fifth now? Josh wasn't sure- and stripping him of his t-shirt the second he shut the door behind himself, hadn't even been a blip on his radar.

Which could be why he immediately snapped to attention, popping up in bed and casting a look around his room.

Josh noticed the open patio door on his second pass-through, a shadowy figure leaning against the pillar staring out across the canal.

She'd pilfered his shirt from the floor, and Josh shimmied into his jeans before sliding out the door behind her. There was a slight breeze over the water, but the way the stars peek out from the clouds and the scent of the sea made up for it. He knows if there's a chill to him, she sure as hell didn't feel it, and wraps his arms around her kissing the top of her head when she relaxed fully into him.

"What time is it?"

"Just before five." Their voices are low, and Josh isn't sure if it's because Zay's balcony door is open about thirty feet to their left, or because as close as they are, the volume wasn't needed. "I think Farkle's schedule said breakfast is around nine."

Maya chuckles to herself, the reverberation shaking him too. "Yeah," she's talking to herself this time. "That's gonna have to go."

"You and Zay are agreeing on something." He warned her softly.

"The end is neigh." Another laugh and Maya shook her hair out of her eyes. "What's got you up this early?"

There are at least a dozen things that Josh wanted to say. The bed was cold. There was a breeze. They'd spent more nights together than apart and he can't help but notice when she's no longer with him.

Instead, he just tightens his arms around her, smiling into the crown of her hair. "Jetlag's a bitch." She laughs slowly, dropping her head onto his shoulder. "It's almost eleven back home."

"By the time you get used to it, we'll be heading home."

She would know better than he would, Josh supposed. "Thank God caffeine is universal." He muttered against her neck, tugging her a step backward.

Maya turned slightly in his arms, head lolling against his collarbone. "Do you think we can stay out here for a while?" Josh couldn't say no to her. They both knew by now it was physically impossible. "The sunrise is probably epic."

"It's also in about an hour and a half." He cocked an eyebrow at her, smile wry. Maya just glanced up at him through long lashes. "Go grab a blanket from the bed," Josh commanded gently, releasing her. "Your city girl ass may not understand that fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit is supposed to be cold, but to the rest of the world…"

She returned with the oversized down comforter wrapped around her small form, nudging him toward one of the chairs in the corner of the balcony. "I'd respond to your 'city girl' comment," She relinquished the blanket long enough for him to drape it across the chair, plopping down in the middle and pulling her into his lap. "But I think throwing you off the balcony less than twenty-four hours into our trip would send the others the wrong message."

Josh dropped a kiss to her temple, pulling her closer so he could wrap the blanket tighter around them. "You just don't want to have to explain to Riley why you were in the position to abuse me at five in the morning."

A chill slid down her spine and her entire body convulsed into his. "I'm sure I could come up with something."

There was no way that Josh could argue with that. He didn't even want to try. Another kiss to her temple and he tucked her legs in closer to them. Another string of sentences came to him, things that he would file away for another time or place. Maya nodded to herself stiffly, tucking her head under his chin and staring out over the water.

* * *

 _My lover's got humor._

In Josh's defense, Zay was the one that started it this time. Farkle had talked them all into touring the Palazzo Ducale after lunch –the Basilica di San Marco was also on the list, but due to Sunday morning Mass it was pushed back to late afternoon- and Zay had one earbud in as they followed the two geniuses through room after room. An older woman scoffed at the fact that he bopped his head to a beat only he could hear, and Josh watched as Riley resisted the urge to point out to the poor woman that this was the only way to keep him quiet and respectful as the rest of them enjoyed the frescos and history. Every once in a while they would have to nudge him to be mindful that he had started humming along with whatever it was that was playing at the time.

 _She's a giggle at a funeral._

"Can't say I disagree with you." Lucas stepped up beside the older Matthews, watching as Farkle and Maya debated brushstrokes and brilliance of one of the Zelotti pieces in front of them. Josh honestly had no idea what the difference between that piece and the three that they'd passed to get to it, but Maya's eyes were wide as she kept reaching up to touch it before remembering her place and lowering it again.

He'd tease her about it, like Will was currently doing, if it weren't for the fact that he had had the exact same reaction to the _loggia_. She'd run a hand up his back as the others moved in front of them, slipping her hand into his back pocket and shouting back that she'll take 'as long as I damn well please!' when Zay joked that they didn't have all day.

They followed the group another few feet, Lucas still hovering about a foot or so away. Josh tried not to give it too much thought, after all, they had seemed to trade 'trip buddies' more than once in the last three days, and at the moment Zay was being schooled by Smackle in Venetian painters, and Riley and Will were whispering to each other while Maya stepped up to the next plaque, seeming to not hear Farkle when he read from it. Josh took a few discreet shots of the group with his phone while he hung back, trying not to run his fingers over the molding of the archways connecting rooms.

It wasn't until Riley had thrown herself at Zay, forcing him to give her a piggyback to their next destination, Maya shaking her head as her eyes traced over the Tiepolo they were passing, that Josh realized that Lucas hadn't strayed far from him in the last half an hour.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked as he took a step back, allowing an older couple to enter the antechamber first.

The tall blonde seemed taken aback for a minute as if he hadn't realized that Josh would notice something was up. To his credit, Lucas didn't fidget more than necessary. There was also no backpedaling or stuttering, which Josh would have expected. "Is Maya okay?"

Josh bit back his immediate response. His pseudo-not-so girlfriend had spent breakfast sitting in Friar's lap, stealing the berries off of his plate before helping herself to Josh's coffee when she wanted more before the waitress could get back to them, so Lucas should have been able to answer his own question. But they both were well versed in Maya Hart, so if he was asking, then something wasn't adding up to the Texan.

"As far as I know." He ran a hand over his face, double checking their proximity to the rest of the group before he blew a breath out of his lips. "Why?"

"She's forcing her good mood." The look Lucas gave him was accusatory.

Josh forced out another breath, eyes on the blonde in question. "She was up before five," he pointed out quickly. And Josh wasn't about to mention that even after he took her back to bed after watching the sun rise, she hadn't fallen back to sleep. "She's running on –like- twelve hours sleep in two and a half days, and she's on edge because of her freak out before dinner last night." The group slipped into the next room and Josh didn't look at Lucas as he followed.

"It's just an off day?"

Lucas didn't seem any more convinced than Josh sounded, but the older man nodded all the same. "There a reason you're not asking _her_ about this?"

It was Lucas's turn to attempt to look convincing. "Riley's been watching her like a hawk all morning." He decided, gesturing to the archway. "Maya doesn't need my suspicions on top of that."

"It's not suspicion." Josh countered. "It's concern." Beside him, Lucas shrugged. "And of the seven of us here with her, I think you're the only one that she would probably not fight on that."

Across the room, Maya's back straightened, and she let go of Farkle's arm to turn and look for the two that they were leaving behind when Lucas coughed, instinctively stepping forward. Maya's eyebrow rose, a question on her lips, but it slid from her face when Josh wrinkled his nose, giving his chin a quick shake. He noticed Maya's shoulders drop, her shifting to smile at Riley, and the lack of tension in her cheeks as she laughed along with something.

He didn't catch the look Lucas gave him as the younger boy took in the whole thing.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that last part." Lucas slapped Josh on the shoulder, taking another step forward to return to the group.

"Joshua!" He didn't stand a chance when the petite blonde looped her arm through his –in full view of everyone- and dropped her head to his chest. "I'm cold."

If they were alone, this would be the part where Josh would wrap his arms around her, pulling her closer to his chest so he could wrap them both in his leather jacket. When Riley giggled at Maya's antics, he was half tempted to do it anyway. Pursing his lips, Josh dropped his chin to the crown of Maya's head. "And you want me to do _what_ about this?"

Her eyes rolled up slowly. It was probably the first time all day that Maya's smile was quick to surface. "Loan my city girl ass your jacket?"

"I don't think it's gonna match your shoes." He threw out, knowing full well that this was just an excellent front before he gave it to her.

"It's like two below in here, Matthews." Maya's arms had shifted sometime in the last few seconds, winding their way around his waist. Josh resisted the urge to jump when she pressed a freezing hand against the skin of his lower back. He wished that he could tell her that he thought it was warmer in the museum than it was on the balcony that morning. " _Please_?"

He took a step back, pulling her hands out of the cover of his shirt. "If it'll get your freezing paws off of me." Shrugging off his leather jacket took less than a second, and he draped it on Maya's shoulders with an over exaggerated huff.

Blonde hair flipped over her the lapel of the jacket, and Josh could hear the smile in her voice. "Thank you."

"How come Josh is the only one Maya's nice to?" Zay skirted past Lucas, eyeing Maya skeptically. "If she wanted my hoodie there would have been a threat attached, but with Matthews, it's all 'please' and 'thank you'."

Before Josh could formulate a response, Maya shifted on her heels, shaking her head. "You caught me," she pushed out a breath, smiling. "I'm secretly sleeping with Josh."

Josh's entire body was desperately attempting to contemplate where his next breath was coming from. This had to be what drowning felt like. And all Josh could do was stand there like a deer caught in head lights as Maya shifted apathetic eyes to the rest of the group. His hand came up, finger pointing toward the ceiling, but no sounds came from his lips. He had been all for telling everyone that they were together –albeit Italy was probably not the best place to do it- but where was he supposed to go with this?

And then Maya's lip quirked, eyes bright, and she and Riley seemed to burst out laughing at the exact same moment.

"You play to your audience," the blonde amended, wrapping her arm around Josh's to prevent herself from toppling over. "Does Matthews seem like the kind of guy to respond well to threats?"

When Zay shrugged, Josh slipped a hand over Maya's hip, dramatically winking at her. "Depends on the type of threat."

Riley shifted on her toes, laughter playing at the edge of her pursed lips. "That's not creepy at all." She announced to the room.

Maya hopped out of his reach, pirouetting up to her best friend and wrapping both arms around her. "Were we doing the Basilica next, or can I talk someone into helping me find some caffeine?" He caught her wink, and the apprehensive smile covered by the side of her bottom lip caught between teeth. She knew just what she had done to him with those five words, and she wasn't as unaffected by it as she pretended to be.

But Farkle already had his phone out, app searching for the requested coffee while he and Smackle debated the Bridge of Sighs over going straight to the cathedral. They were out into the open air of the courtyard when Maya stepped back up to him, shrugging off his leather jacket and reaching out to return it to him.

"You should remember a wrap when we're exploring Florence tomorrow." The leather smelled like her when Josh pulled it on, eyes on the way Will seemed to be studying them.

Maya wasn't paying a bit of attention, though, as she turned to fully face him. "It was the first thing I thought of." She spit out, eyes on him. "I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"It's fine." Josh cut her off with a quick wave of his hand, resisting the urge to actually touch her. Will might have gotten distracted by Riley and Smackle arguing over destinations, but Josh wasn't dumb enough to think that whatever Will had seen wouldn't be remembered.

He didn't have time to step out in front of her. Maya's hand latched onto his elbow, and she turned just enough to catch Lucas's eye. "We'll catch up!" She shouted to the rest of the group.

There was a vague joke ahead of them that Josh didn't catch, but the way Zay sneered at them, he was pretty sure he knew the basis.

She waited until they had cleared the wall headed toward the Biblioteca Marciana before turning back to him. "I'm sorry."

If he weren't watching her lips, Josh wouldn't have caught her words. "You have nothing to be sorry for." Maya's chin might have nodded along with him, but her eyes hadn't left his. "We've managed the last four months on a very strict 'ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies'." It was the bluntest way to put it, but Josh noted that it didn't ring false. "I didn't expect you to dangle that particular carrot, but now that I know where the new line is drawn…"

"And I'm telling you that I shouldn't have." Maya spared a quick glance around before taking his chin in her hands. "This, _us_ , isn't a joke." She nodded to herself, running some sort of idea through her head. "It's a lot of things, but it's not a joke."

Her earnestness caught him off guard. "Do you-" Josh shook his chin free of her hand, catching it in his own and pulling it between them. "Do you think I'm mad at you?"

"It's not a ridiculous notion."

Josh didn't mean to laugh at her. But once he began, he wasn't sure how to stop. "Maya," he started, trying to force another breath. "Gorgeous." It was his turn to drop her hand, running his thumb across her jaw. "You scared the shit out of me in there. I thought that that was you outing us, and I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing," Was his voice shaking? Josh hoped not. "But I'm not mad."

"I'd like to think that I wouldn't just announce that you and I are together without warning you first." Josh forced himself not to react to her wording. It was entirely possible that Maya hadn't noticed it.

He took a deep breath instead, brushing a stray hair out of her eyes. "Much appreciated." He couldn't resist dropping his lips to the wrinkle between her eyebrows. "And even though it's not necessary, apology accepted." Josh had to take a step back then before he pulled her into an actual kiss. "What are you gonna tell the others?"

Maya twirled, bumping into him and lacing the fingers of one of his hands with hers. "I thought I'd try the truth." The way the sentence rolled off of her tongue, Josh understood she was being somewhat ironic.

"Which truth is that?" Fingers intertwined, Josh laid his palm against her hip.

"I took a joke too far," she let out in a rush. "I wanted to apologize."

Josh brought his other hand up to stroke his chin. "And this 'apology' required us to be alone?" Maya's eyebrow perked and Josh popped her hip. "As alone as the courtyard of the Doge's Palace allowed us."

"Well, I had to make sure you knew I was sincere." She brought their joined hands up to her lips. When Josh slowed his stride, she licked his thumb, pulling another laugh from his throat.

Wiping his thumb across her nose, Josh took half a step back as they emerged onto the street. "There's something wrong with you."

"You might want to start praying it's not contagious." Farkle had corralled the rest of the group at one of the outermost tables of a sidewalk café. Riley and Lucas were the only two to look up when they approached. The former held out a paper cup with a huge Sharpie M on the lid, while the latter tried to pretend that he wasn't shouting 'is everything okay' with his mind.

Josh shrugged as he stepped up to the table, taking the cup Farkle offered him with a smile. "I don't think I care." He dropped in Maya's ear, skirting past her to get to a seat.

* * *

The lock snicking was the only real warning that Josh had that his room was about to be invaded. He shifted in his seat on the bed, switching his phone to the other side of his legs and pulling his PLoS ONE book closer to his laptop. He paused for a moment, finishing his thought on one of the sticky notes that were attached to his page, and spared a glance to the hallway leading in from the door.

They'd finally made it to Basilica San Marco after their coffee stop. And then Riley led the girls on another shopping expedition while Josh joined Farkle on a tour of the Biblioteca Marciana, phone firmly in hand so he could snapshots of the architecture that he was dying to try to add to his portfolio. They all met up for dinner at one of the oldest osteries in Venice –the eight of them squeezed into two back corner booths was something that Maya made sure to get photographic evidence of and uploaded to her Instagram- and they traded plates just as easily as they swapped stories of what they had missed by separating into groups. On a whim, they'd taken a water taxi across the canal to the San Giorgio Maggiore to listen to whoever was booked at the Teatro Verde, and Maya hummed along wordlessly the entire trip back across the canal.

"I think if Morgan wanted you to know what you're getting for your birthday; she would have cc'd you in the email with the rest of us." He tried not to roll his eyes when Maya pointed to his headset, mouthing the word 'Ma.' "There's a reason why it's called a 'surprise'." There was a pause and Josh laughed, cutting his mother off. "And just because we're all in on it does not mean that that's all you're getting."

Maya toed her flip-flops off beside the bed, climbing up on top of the comforter with him. She took in the textbooks that he had spread across the foot of the bed and laughed, choosing one at random and settling back against the pillows.

On the other end of the line, it appeared as if Amy Matthews was just getting started. "I thought you guys were taking over Smackle's room?" It was actually the sole reason why he had decided to grab a beer from the hotel bar and come upstairs to try to get some work on his thesis done while the rest of the guys played cards. Maya's eyes bugged until she realized that his hand was covering the mouthpiece on his headset.

"That was before Riley fell asleep in her Nebbiolo and Will carried her back to their room." Making sure to save his page, Maya flipped ahead a few more to one of the diagrams. "The guys are still downstairs playing cards if you're interested."

He shook his head, his mother's tangent on her children's irregular visiting patterns –and habit of ganging up on her- still going strong. "I've already donated enough to the Lucas Friar College Fund." It was entirely possible that Maya only found that sentence funny because she had been the one to teach Friar five card draw one afternoon they had both wound up in detention their freshman year of high school.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Is there someone in your room, honey?"

Josh brought his palm up to his forehead and bit his tongue before mouthing his favorite expletive. "The guys are playing cards down in the bar," he said smoothly, the hand holding his pencil coming up to clamp over Maya's mouth. The last thing he needed was her giggles contradicting him. "Maya came up to see if I wanted to join."

"Are you sure it's not too late to be hanging out in hotel bars?" And it seemed that it was that easy to switch Amy back to mom mode. "It's almost midnight there."

"I'm on vacation in Italy, Ma." He reminded her. "It's never too late to be hanging in hotel bars." His mother scoffed and Josh shook his head. "And we're headed to Florence in the morning, I can sleep on the train."

There was a brief moment when he wasn't sure if he should be more concerned with the fact that his mother had gone silent or that Maya had just licked his palm, pencil and all.

He chose to focus on Maya, wiping his hand on the side of her face before bopping her on the nose with the eraser. "Can I text you in the morning?" He laughed when Maya countered by taking hold of his wrist in an attempt to relieve him of his writing utensil.

"Don't stay up too late," Amy commanded, muttering something to her husband. "I love you!"

"Love you too, Ma." Josh made sure to end the call before rotating on the bed, pulling Maya underneath him. "Was that fun?"

She nipped at his nose, adjusting her hips to fit more comfortably under him. "Was it not supposed to be?"

Josh laughed. "I'd strongly suggest you refrain from that in the future." When he nodded, she did. "Ma's a bloodhound when it comes to trying to keep secrets."

"Duely noted," another shift of her hips and Maya brought her arms up behind his neck to anchor herself into a kiss. "I didn't mean to interrupt thesis time." Another kiss and Josh pulled himself back up onto his knees, bringing her with him. "Will took Riley to bed, and–"

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that sentence."

He hadn't meant to actually say that aloud, but rather than tease him about it, Maya nodded knowingly. "You know they're not sleeping together." She blinked, backtracked her sentence with her eyes and the shook her head. "They're not having sex," she amended.

"I know." And it hadn't escaped his notice that they were having a conversation about his niece's sex life while her best friend was more or less straddling him. "It doesn't make it less weird."

Maya nodded again, tucking her head under his chin. "That's because they're doing this whole relationship thing the right way." This was the second time in less than twelve hours that Maya had willing used the word 'relationship' in reference to what they were doing. Josh tried not to read into it. "First, you fall in love, then you fall in bed–"

Without putting too much thought into the 'why', Josh shifted on his knees, pushing Maya to her back again. "Our way's more fun." His lips dropped down to hers for the briefest of seconds. Her eyes dimmed slightly, and Josh pushed himself off of her and back into his original sitting position. "Gimmie a second to put this in some semblance of order, and I'll head downstairs with you."

Maya curled herself around one of the oversized pillows. "Take your time. Zay was almost out of cash." If Josh remembered correctly, they were only allowed to start out with twenty bucks or so anyway, so it wasn't like anyone would lose a great deal of money. "And he'll storm off to bed when that happens."

"You want to try to find something on TV, then?" Josh reached for the remote on the side of the bed, dropping it next to her when Maya didn't reach for it.

The blonde beside him just shrugged.

She was staring into space just to the other side of him, eyes unfocused. Josh tried not to notice that this wasn't the first time during this trip that she'd done something like that. It was a lot more common whenever conversations about Farkle and Isadora, or Riley and Will, were brought up by their friends. Josh had only taken a year of psych but he understood her quiet contemplation for what it was.

When she was with Lucas things had been easier. While there had been some days where he'd been able to pull one over on his parents and spend the night, they didn't have the open freedom that she and Josh did, which meant that the lines of their relationship were clearly drawn.

He tried not to feel bad for the fact that the same ambiguity that he took for granted when it came to him and Maya was something that possibly disturbed her.

"Hey." She blinked once, carefully, before finally meeting his eyes. "Just because we don't follow their rules doesn't make us wrong."

She seemed to consider him for a second. Over the years he had seen what he thought was the complete range of Maya's facial expressions, but this was one he couldn't read. "Yeah," she shifted, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Of course."

"So," Josh reached for the remote again, holding it out. "You wanna find something for me to pretend to understand while I clean all this up?"

Maya accepted the remote, before turning and dropping it on the nightstand. "You need to work on your thesis." She nodded to the book in front of him. When his smile mirrored hers, her hand slid past his thigh so she could wrap her fingers around his phone. "I can find a way to amuse myself."

"And just what am I unlocking my phone for you to amuse yourself with?" He waved his hand in front of her, enjoying her smile.

Four quick taps and Maya flipped his phone around, displaying the home screen. "Absolutely nothing." Josh wasn't about to ask her how long she'd had his phone's password, or why she'd felt it necessary to learn. He leaned forward, to brush his lips across hers, and she pulled back, motioning again to the foot of the bed. "Your paper won't write itself."

He shook off the laughter, making sure she caught a glimpse of his smile before he reached for the notebook and text he'd pushed aside.

This wasn't the first time that he'd studied with Maya in the room. Usually, she had her own books open, and they filled the silence with one playlist or another while they worked. Josh managed to notate one sentence before he felt a palm against his side, and he shifted backward, pulling his book with him in order to slide into the position Maya seemed to want him in. When he'd reached that spot, it was Maya's turn to move. She flipped a pillow into the gap formed by his legs, her head dropping onto it while her arm stayed wrapped around his torso.

It didn't shock him at all when he realized, half an hour later, that she'd fallen asleep like that. Beer finished, three pages down, he managed to close his books and slide them into his bag without dislodging her.

Then he flipped the light off, pulled her against him, and fell asleep.

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

 _"Uncle Josh?" Maya popped an earbud out instantly._

 _Her counterpart in the seat across from her didn't even look up from his book. "Niece Riley?"_

 _"Have you started seeing anyone?"_


	29. Interlude: Another Hole in the Head

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 8,332  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

The in-room phone rang exactly fifteen minutes after seven.

Maya cursed every person she had ever met while Josh detangled himself from her, popping the receiver off of the hook and pulling it to his ear. "Yeah."

"Mi dispiace disturbarla, signore." The voice on the other end was probably far too cheerful for the current time. She also probably had no idea that he had absolutely no idea what she had just said. "Ma la vostra camera richiesta una sveglia."

Before he could mutter something in English, Maya's face popped out from under the down comforter. "Grazie mille," she said quickly into the receiver, not bothering to take it from his hand. "Potrebbe informare il servizio in camera che abbiamo bisogno di servizio di caffè?"

The chipper voice on the other end of the line seemed to only get happier. "Ovviamente."

And then it was gone.

"Please tell me that that was a request to have Farkle drawn and quartered?" Josh flopped back onto his pillows, dropping the receiver back into place.

"Better." Maya burrowed herself further into his warmth. "Coffee." He rolled closer to her, laughing against her ear. "Then I'm gonna do it myself."

His palm slid beneath her tank top, and Josh breathed in Maya as he slid his fingers over the lettering on her side. "Pretty sure that's going to ruin my perfect chaperone record." She groaned against him, shifting her hips to remove the space between them.

"But we'll get to sleep in," she pouted, "which is really more important."

He didn't have an answer at that very moment - which was a good thing seeing as though he wasn't given a chance to answer before there was a knock on the door. Josh waited for a beat for the tell-tale 'room service' that never came, before there was another set of beats.

"If that's Farkle I'm murdering him now," Maya grumbled, flopping back into the space his absence created.

It took Josh a handful of seconds to remember that he had fallen asleep almost fully clothed the night before. Yes, he was standing in the middle of his room in his boxers, but they went rather nicely with the 'Mordor Fun Run' shirt that Farkle had given him for his birthday if he said so himself. And the fact that he had his own mental conversation with himself about clothes was probably why whoever it was on the other side managed to get one more set of knocks in before Josh could make it to the other end of the room to interrupt them.

He probably should have asked who it was before he pulled open the door. That though occurred to him immediately after he was oh so thankful that it was Lucas on the other side instead of his niece.

"Do I get to kill someone?" Maya was still completely covered by blankets, and Josh allowed himself to laugh at the position they were currently in.

Then Lucas held up a very large cup of coffee and Josh nodded to the bed. "First, you drink the coffee." The Texan pulled back the covers, holding the mug just enough out of reach that Maya had to fully sit up, before depositing it in her hands.

"My boys are so nice to me." Maya took a long sip, inhaling as much of the liquid as she could.

"Room service took forever this morning," Lucas nodded to the cup and seemed to realize that Josh had just climbed out of the bed Maya was still in all in one motion. "So, I'll take your bag," He pointed to Maya's rolling suitcase. "And I'll head off any Riley related questions while you shower, and I'll meet you downstairs in thirty?"

While Maya just shrugged, Josh shook his head. "You may want to grab fresh clothes out of that." Her toiletry bag fit in her carry-on, so he didn't need to make sure that was packed, but if Maya arrived in the lobby in the same yoga pants and camisole that she'd left them all in the bar in the night before, someone was bound to notice.

"Point," Maya took a final sip of her mug and set it on the nightstand on her way out of the bed. She flopped down onto the floor, pulling her bag with her.

Josh paid no attention to whatever she was grabbing, already across the room to repack his messenger bag and mentally repacking his bag to accommodate her dirty clothes. His under-caffeinated brain was also pretty sure there should be at least one joke about how it apparently took two of them to keep Maya straight while on vacation. Bag situated, Josh stepped over Maya and her suitcase, clapping Lucas on the shoulder on his way to the bathroom. "Can someone open the door when the coffee gets here?" He didn't wait for an answer, shutting the door behind him.

He had ten glorious moments in the shower before he heard the door to the bathroom open again. Ten minutes to forget the semi-awkward situation that he had found himself in just by opening a door. He'd managed to lather, rinse, and repeat, and let the water warm up to an acceptable temperature. While it wasn't the best way to wake up in the morning, it certainly got him going.

"Farkle's messaged you three times to make sure you're up and moving."

Josh chuckled to himself when he heard the rustle of the shower curtain. "You let him know I'll be down in time?"

Someone was about to be highly disappointed this morning.

"I even did it from your phone."

There was no redemptive name for the groan that escaped from Josh's lips when Maya's hand skipped over his hipbone. "No."

Maya didn't let go of him. "No?"

"Maya," he warned, hoping that his tone sounded at least half as firm as he was aiming for. "We definitely do not have time for this." Her giggle was careful, and Josh took half a step forward so he could turn around without worrying that he would elbow her in the face. He knew that logic wouldn't get him out of this situation, so he was going to have to try a little misdirection. "And you're going wait until I get out before you reach for that," he gestured in the direction of her loofah. "I'm not spending three hours on a train smelling like you."

Her indignant huff gave him all the time he needed to slip out from behind the shower curtain.

He heard her laugh again, this time, most likely actually making fun of the way he had pretty much run from her, before the cap to her body wash popped and Josh watched Maya shake her head through the curtain. "You're gonna pay for the 'smelling like me' comment." She informed his carefully.

"I do not doubt that." Josh shot back, reaching for his toothbrush. He hip checked the counter, glanced down at himself as he readjusted the towel around his hips and groaned. "I'll most likely be paying for it all day."

* * *

It amazed all parties involved that they managed to get Maya from Josh's room to the lobby without anyone of consequence seeing. This probably wouldn't have been nearly as impressive to the three of them had Riley not been actively looking for her best friend at the time. While he'd like to think that the feat was accomplished because both he and Lucas had served as distractions, he knew he should probably thank Zay and a very well-timed elevator. By the time his niece had made it back to the lobby, Maya was stretched across one of the sofa's nursing the espresso that Farkle had so kindly procured while he waited for everyone to emerge.

And despite the fact that there were no less than three threats to Farkle's life, check-out went incredibly smooth. The entire group was on the water taxi, headed back to the mainland in less time than it took for Zay to fully tie his shoes. Smackle actually did it for him when he flopped back onto the bench, head in Will's lap, and attempted to pass out again.

Once they had successfully made it to the train station, Farkle treated the group to breakfast –thus ending the contract for his head- and allowed the girls a few minutes of window shopping while he hid out in the one and only bookstore the Venezia Mestre offered. Lucas was the only one to point out that the genius was probably attempting to buy the lady's affections when they all shuffled onto the train to discover that again Farkle had yet again procured coffee for everyone, and that Riley had a fresh magazine and Maya was now the proud owner of a new book on Venetian painters.

It seemed to bother no one that Maya's form of payment for what had happened in the bathroom that morning was the silent treatment. She had physically attached herself to Lucas the second he hit the lobby in their previous hotel, and didn't so much as spare him a glance since. Zay had chosen one of the window seats in their cabin –declaring himself bored before they'd even finished boarding and slid his head phones over his ears, passing out against the glass- and Maya threw herself into the seat facing him patting the one between her and the aisle for the Texan to join her. Riley and Will claimed the seats across the aisle from Maya and Lucas, the former not even pausing in her conversation with Smackle as she claimed the window seat. Josh stowed his bag with a shrug, giving his head a good shake before catching Farkle's eye. The genius gave him a sad smile before dropping into the seat next to his girlfriend.

The trip from Venice to Florence was scheduled to take a little over two hours. Rather than focus on the fact that his not-girlfriend could be punishing him for a logistical decision that he never would have made under any other circumstances, Josh grabbed the Bernard Cornwell he was reading out of his messenger bag before he stowed it, plugged his phone into the outlet to charge, and sat down to read.

"It's awesome!" Josh wasn't sure what about Riley's tone made him look up and hour and a half into the trip, but her smile practically audible as she spun in her seat to get a better view of the rest of the row. "Maya, do you have the new Lindsey Sterling?"

He didn't have to glance over to her to know that Maya had just frozen, eyes wide. She had been reaching over to snag a sip of Lucas's water, and her hand hung in the air numbly.

Josh would have smiled if he didn't think that it would have drawn attention to him.

Because of course, Maya had the newest Lindsey Sterling album. Why wouldn't Maya have made sure that she had the newest music with her when she traveled? The problem lay in the fact that she and Riley had never been shy about flipping through each other's phones when they were in their possession. And while Maya most likely had the most up-to-date music collection out of eight of them, she also couldn't think of a plausible explanation as to why she also had dozens of pictures of Josh and herself on the very same phone. This included –but wasn't limited to- a photo taken two nights ago when she'd snapped a shot of a not so decently clothed Josh curled around his pillow.

And yes, Josh knew all about that particular photo. He'd felt her slide from the bed to pad to the bathroom, and he'd cracked an eye open just long enough to see her line up the shot.

Which was why he wasn't at all surprised when Maya's hand dropped onto Lucas's shoulder, and she shook her head stiffly. "Not this time, Riles." She at least had the frame of mind to look away from her best friend when she was lying to her. "I wanted to try to save memory."

"I've got it." Josh tried to ignore the shocked glare that Maya was currently sending him. When she was actively talking to him again, he would have to remember to explain that all of his photos were backed up to his Dropbox. He would also have inform her that he had thought of this particular scenario and that he'd made a point to set himself a reminder every evening to remove any photos that he couldn't explain while they were traveling. Since he kept his Dropbox app password protected, there wasn't a chance that anyone would see anything that he didn't want them to.

Not to mention, he could always reload his favorites once they were back in New York when it wasn't as likely that his droid would wind up in the possession of his niece.

"Can I?" Riley's hand was already out, headphones around her neck. "Farkle needs to hear 'Lovalta'." Josh nodded, pulling the charge cord out of the apparatus, and tapping open the music app before he tossed the phone across the aisle. Will caught it for her, and Riley held the phone out so Farkle could pop in the headphone splitter for them to share.

There was a handful of minutes of silence, where Maya shifted nervously in her seat before there was a cough, and Riley sat up a little straighter.

"Uncle Josh?" Maya popped an earbud out instantly.

Josh didn't even glance up from his book. "Niece Riley?"

"Have you started seeing anyone?"

He resisted the urge to glance at Maya. In his periphery, he'd noticed that her entire posture had changed, and her entire body seemed to be emitting 'this is it' like a beacon. Instead, he tapped Lucas's foot under the table that separated them. Lucas dropped a hand to Maya's thigh while Josh cast a glance to Riley. "That depends entirely on your definition of 'seeing'." Across from him, Lucas's smile widened.

Maya attempted to discretely flick him off.

Josh ignored them both. "Why?"

"You have this playlist," Riley flicked the screen on his phone and flipped it around for the rest of the group to see. Maya choked on air.

 _Subtle Hart_ , Josh still hadn't put his book down, and he reached for his water without taking his gaze from his niece. _Really Subtle_.

"Josh has a playlist dedicated to a girl?" Even with her contacts in, Maya couldn't see far enough to be able to check the title from her seat. She wasn't going to give herself away by climbing out of her seat this early, though. "How can you tell?"

Riley leaned into Will's lap, trying to hold the phone a little farther away from her. "The title is just a little heart emoji." Her voice had gotten higher, and she smiled over to Josh. "Who's the girl?"

"I'll admit nothing, snoop." And with a shake of his head, he went back to his book.

"Do we need to have a discussion on the definition of the word 'casual'?" If it weren't for the fact that Zay's Beats were still firmly over his ears, and he was currently drooling on the window, Josh might have been more concerned with the fact that Maya seemed to be breaking her own rules by muttering under her breath.

From the top of the spine of his hardback, Josh watched Lucas pretend to be more interested in his water bottle than the current conversation. "I wasn't aware that a playlist meant I was dating someone, Hart." His voice was louder than hers was, and it seemed to staunch the curiosity in Riley's eyes over the fact that she obviously hadn't heard her best friend's comment. His eyes shifted from Maya's face to the phone in her hands. On at least two separate occasions he'd been privy to playlists that she had dedicated to Riley. Josh was also well aware that there was one for him, labeled 'Uncle Boing', that had been around since the girls were in middle school.

He'd won that round. Maya's annoyed sigh told him that.

But she gained the upper hand when her fingers deftly released the catch on her seatbelt, and she gave Lucas a friendly shove to motivate him to let her out. "What's on this playlist of his?"

She didn't need to tell Will that he had just been nominated to give up his seat. The poor boy stood, shifting to take Lucas's spot when the Texan slid into the one that Maya had vacated. "Let's see," Riley pulled the phone back to herself, tapping the screen to wake it back up. "OneRepublic," another tap. "Two-Republic."

Maya laughed when Riley pointed to the second OneRepubic song on the list. "'If I Lose Myself' _and_ 'I Lived'?" The latter Josh knew was actually one of Maya's favorite tunes to run to because of the beat. It was actually one of the reasons that it had wound up on the list. "Not bad."

"Pillowtalk?" Riley's eyebrows hit her hairline. Josh was pretty sure that he completely understood the feeling. The only difference was the fact that he knew who's bed she was in the night before.

The only thing that kept Riley from dropping the phone was Maya's hand scooping it out of her grip. "You only don't get made fun of because JoJo's cover actually kind of rocks." That was probably the closest thing to approval that Maya was likely to give him.

"Why does it have to be a playlist _for_ anyone?" Lucas blurted suddenly, most likely trying to overcome whatever mental picture he had as he leaned onto the table in front of him. "He could just really like those songs."

Maya was giggling emphatically now, eyes on Josh's face. "Statistically speaking," Not even Smackle could get through this conversation without a smile on her face. "That's not the kind of song that isn't added to a playlist without at least someone in mind."

It was entirely possible that the longer Josh stayed silent on this, the longer the group would go on. "Does it have to be a specific person?" He closed his book then, no longer pretending to read.

"This isn't a general list, Uncle Josh." Riley reached over Maya to scroll upwards. "Jacob Whitesides. Hunter Hayes." Maya's eyes met his for a split second before they dropped to the screen, relief tugging at her lips when she saw that the song he'd chosen was 'If It's Just Me' rather than the ever popular 'Secret Love'. "And they're not all love songs, so you can't say it's just cleverly titled."

He was starting to regret handing his phone to Riley in the first place.

"It's incredibly cleverly titled," Lucas muttered to himself. When Will turned to look at the Texan, he nodded across the aisle. "It's been the center of conversation for fifteen minutes," he pointed out. "I'd say that takes some skill."

"We talked about Zay's shoes at dinner last night," Maya cut in. "We're easily amused." She continued to scroll back and forth through the list, eyes taking in everything. "'Certain Things'," she closed her eyes, most likely running the lyrics through her head before nodding. "Hozier." He'd added yesterday's song on the way to dinner on sheer impulse. "'High for This'?"

Josh's eyes challenged her. "You're not a fan of The Weeknd?"

Her teeth released her bottom lip with a pop. "Just kinda impressed. Isn't that a little racy for a Matthews?"

"Only if it didn't apply."

It appeared as if Smackle was gearing up to add to her previous argument, hand even coming up. "What song is played the most?" Riley beat her to the punch, propping her head on Maya's shoulder, reading the list as Maya scrolled past.

Josh rolled his eyes as Maya grinned, tapping the few buttons that would give her that information. "Lights Down Low?" There was no way that Maya could have hidden her surprise. After all, it was her that had introduced him to the Youtube star long before they had started seeing each other. Had she actually forgotten that she damn near forced him to buy the album during a week in Philly the summer before? Her top lip curved slightly, and she spared him one more glance before she nodded to herself.

There was a twinge as he tried to recall whether or not Riley was aware that that particular song was among Maya's top 25 most played as well. His niece didn't seem the least bit perplexed, though, so he decided that it wasn't the biggest mistake he'd ever made.

"If you're done," Josh held out his hand for his phone.

He should have actually paid attention to the glint in Maya's eye. "Not even close." She didn't ask for permission before she popped Farkle's headphones out of the splitter, adding hers beside Riley's. "There's a song or two on here that I don't think I've heard before."

Josh could have fought with her. It would have gotten them absolutely nowhere, and probably tipped a few of the more observant people around them to their current situation, but he could have all the same. Shrugging, he reached for his book again. "You might want to start with the Eli Lieb." He suggested helpfully. Then he reached under his seat, pulling the charging brick from the socket before handing it across the aisle. "And if you could keep an eye on the battery, that'd be great too."

* * *

As soon as the train cleared Sesto Fiorentino, Farkle seemed to spring into action. On the schedule for the day was apparently the Il Duomo di Firenze and Giotto's Campanile, followed by lunch at the Piazza della Repubblica. He'd tried to cram a tour of the Uffizi Gallery on the Arno River in before dinner, but Zay had put a stop to that by threatening to zip-tie the genius to a chair. While Josh doubted that he could have done it by himself –Zay wasn't that good- Maya's smile hinted that he would not be acting alone if that was the path the trip took.

Will non-committedly suggested that they not talk about it until they had checked into the hotel; fewer witnesses that way.

The plan was slightly reconsidered when they were forced to take two taxis from the train station to the hotel, a gorgeous resort Villa on the other side of the river, away from the city proper. Zay took one look at the gorgeous frescos, intricate chandlers, and outdoor area –which included a hedge maze and a heated outdoor pool- and decided that if the genius wanted him to stand on his head and sing Sinatra, he would certainly give it a shot.

This time, they skipped the pretense of the four rooms, Farkle and Isadora checking in together after Maya informed them that 'if there's not a hot stone massage and a facial with my name on it while we're here, you definitely won't be able to sleep together'. Riley was quick to reassure the young men in the group closest to them that Maya was kidding –in quick fire Italian- and mock-scolded her best friend for taking advantage of Farkle's generosity after the outburst a few days before. Will didn't have the heart to remind her that Riley had been sandwiched between Maya and Smackle on the plane when they'd gone crazy over the spa amenities.

"Good news, bad news, guys." Farkle returned to the group with a smile, juggling packets and keys.

Lucas shifted the magazines on the table in front of them, allowing the younger man to drop the contents of his hands and sort through it all. "Start with the bad news."

"We're not all on the same floor." Smackle beat him to the punch, sliding into the chair behind him. As far as bad news went, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. "My parents wanted to surprise me by upgrading my room to a suite, so Farkle and I are on the first floor-"

"And I checked in using the Minkus Corporate account," which was a sentence that only Farkle could actually sound annoyed while delivering. "So they upgraded everyone else to the best available."

Maya shifted on the balls of her feet, actively chewing her lip. "What's the good news?"

"Balconies and panaoramic views for everyone!" Smackle was a bit too enthused at that news, but the entire group got a laugh while Farkle sorted packets. "And I took the liberty for signing us up for morning yoga." Maya's eyes narrowed as she forced a smile. "Followed by Ayurvedic massages, facials, and mani-pedis before we go museum hopping tomorrow."

"Can I?" Riley's eyes were wide.

Maya shrugged, "Why not? You haven't gotten a good one in a while."

Riley was on her feet in seconds, pulling Smackle and Maya into a hug while she shook. " _Yaaaay_!"

The blonde counted to four and then put her hand over Riley's mouth. "That's enough."

As the brunette deflated, Farkle laughed. "I kinda just improvised as to who is where." He admitted quickly, finally getting the packets into some semblance of order. "I hope no one minds." He handed the one on top to Smackle, before turning to Will. "You and Riley are gonna be on the second floor."

Riley's mouth opened quickly, presumably to refute the fact that she and Will were sharing a room.

"No one cares." Zay yawned, accepting his own packet with a smile. "And the only way anyone back home is gonna know is if you tell on yourself."

"You're on the third floor." Farkle nodded to the packet. "You're by yourself up there, so please remember that anything you do reflects on us all." Lucas stifled a laugh when the genius cut him off a second time. "And no porn."

Maya wasn't as successful, leaning into Josh to physically hide her grin.

"You three are on the fourth floor." Lucas was handed a full packet, Josh the other. The genius then passed the spa pamphlet –reservation stapled to the top- to Maya along with a room key. "I'm told that you guys are across the hall from each other, but if you'd prefer to share a balcony, I can do that too."

"I think we're good." Lucas popped the seal on his packet, blinked once, and pocketed a key.

They all glanced awkwardly at each other for a moment before Isadora stood, reaching for the purse she'd dropped beside the chair. "Arranged transport will be down here to take us to the Piazza del Duomo in half an hour." She glanced at her watch and smiled. "Shall we go put away our luggage and reconvene in twenty-five minutes?"

The bulk of the group shuffled to the elevator, Farkle saluting them as he and Isadora headed down the hall. They were safely enclosed in the car when Riley dramatically threw her arms around Maya.

"We're not on the same floor!" She squealed harshly. "Not Yay!"

"You'll be fine." Maya tapped her best friend's back gently. "You have Bixby," she flicked her wrist in Will's direction. "And a rather impressive Junior Suite." Josh laughed and pointed to the sticker on the front of Will's packet when the poor man glanced around confused.

Riley wouldn't be deterred. "But you're up there!"

The door dinged again and opened to reveal Will and Riley's floor while the latter flung a hand to the ceiling. Lucas leaned back against the mirrored wall as Maya seemed to survey her options on how to deal with the brunette. Her mouth opened, hand up, as Will navigated two rolling suitcases and two carry-on bags onto the floor. When it seemed he was situated, Maya shook her head. "You're it." She exclaimed, tapping the man on the shoulder as she gave Riley a quick shove out of the elevator as Zay hit the 'door close' button.

"You are going to apologize for that," Josh caught Maya's eye in the mirror and hid his smirk behind a glare of disapproval.

She seemed to consider it. "To which one?"

"Maya."

There was a moment, when Maya stepped backward, turning to her face which was right next to his, that Josh wondered whether or not she needed a reminder that Zay directly to her left. "Yes sir, Uncle Josh."

Lucas winced as the door opened again, Zay taking that opportunity to quietly sneak out behind them. "Damn," he coughed when the doors closed again. "Are you sure you want her tonight?"

"Do you think they'd send a trundle to your room?" Josh watched Maya's eyes shift to the Texan. "I don't think you'll be any safer than I am."

Doors opening to their floor, Lucas checked the room number on his packet and saluted the darker haired man. "Then go with God, my friend."

Maya shoved past him, pulling her bag behind her. "And I'm the one that was out of line." She announced to the floor, stopping once she realized that she didn't have a room number on her keycard.

"You're also the prettiest." Lucas shrugged, coming up short in front of a door and pulling his keycard from his pocket to unlock it. "You don't see us bitching about that."

Maya mimicked his actions across the hall. "Maybe I will go sleep with Riley and Will!" She shoved the door in front of her open, dropping her bag in the middle of the entryway and flinging herself across the room onto the king sized bed.

Josh threw a glance across the hall, mouthing a few choice words as Lucas laughed himself into his room. "You'd get porn with Zay on three!" The Texan shouted as Josh kicked the door closed behind him.

It wasn't until a few minutes later when Josh was dropping the packet and key onto the side table that he suddenly came up short.

Across the room Maya sat up, brows knitted together. "What's wrong?"

He forced a laugh, shaking his head and dropping his wallet on top of the pile. "Nothing." If Maya hadn't noticed, he wasn't going to be the one to tell her. Josh tossed his messenger bag into the oversized chair closest to the desk and then rolled the suitcases up to the tufted bench at the foot of the bed. "Were you wanting to change before we head out?"

* * *

Much to Farkle's chagrin, it took them almost twice as long as he had budgeted to make it through the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was due in large part to the fact that he hadn't taken into account that Maya could –and did- stand unflinchingly front of certain pieces for undetermined amounts of time. The dome itself –and The Last Judgement painted on the inner dome by Vasari and Zuccaro- took twenty minutes on its own before Riley could shuffle her friend onto the next stop. The girls also insisted on climbing all 414 steps of Giotto's Bell Tower when the offer was made, not coming back down until they had at least three panoramic shots for their collections. Each.

As much as Josh wished that he could joke the younger adults for their antics, he wasn't much better. Having actually grabbed his DSLR for this excursion, Josh filled the bulk of a memory card with different angles of the Italian Gothic-Renaissance architecture. He even noted the polychrome marble panels and paid particular attention to the Gothic Revival façade that was added in the late 19th Century.

Maya made fun of him for a solid five minutes when he cut Farkle off as the genius read from the guidebook, pointing out the original structure and the various extensions that the cathedral had undergone. She also reneged on her vow to make him pay for the morning's infraction by allowing a dozen or so people between them and the rest of the group when descending the Bell Tower, slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling his lips down to meet her in a dirty exchange; so he really didn't mind the first part.

"Stop it." Maya gave Josh a weak smack on the shoulder as she reached past him for Farkle's tablet.

Lucas looked up from his phone for a split second, gaging responses before Josh grinned back at the blonde. "Stop what?"

"The humming." She was biting her lip again.

Josh didn't turn his head to watch her, choosing instead to attempt discretion by hiding behind his aviators. "Am I humming?"

"When the children are asleep," he locked his jaw when she started to sing. "We sit and dream?"

"Sorry," Josh reached for his water glass carefully. "I was just reminded of the last time I was on a carousel." Maya was careful to cock her head to the side before she rolled her eyes.

She tapped out a command, running her tongue over her bottom lip, before surveying the people left at the table. They had grabbed a late lunch at a café on the Piazza della Repubblica. Taking up two tables by themselves, they had shared fresh bruschetta with tomato and basil, artichoke flan, cheeses and honey, and two Margherita pizzas while discussing their next stop.

"I'm never doing anything nice for you ever again," Maya emphasized the point by stealing a sip of his water, the second he set the glass down.

Riley leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Will said he'd ride this one with me when we're done!" She chirped, eyes shifting to Maya. "Will you ride this one with Will and me?"

"Of course I will, Honey." Maya's phone chirped in her purse and she shifted in her seat to reach it. There was a grumble when she realized it was ringing, and the sound wasn't just a text message, but she plastered a smile on her face anyway. Josh wondered if she'd react adversely to him pointing out that whoever was on the other end couldn't see her. "Whaddya want, Hunter? I'm on vacation here!"

He couldn't hear Shawn's response, but Maya's laugh was genuine.

"Any particular reason why old man Matthews didn't call him with this concern?" There was another beat when everyone seemed to realize at the exact same time that Maya and Shawn were talking about a problem Cory had with someone on the trip, and all eyes were on her. "Your best friend's an idiot." She spat right before taking another sip of Josh's drink. "But I will pass along the message." Her eyes rolled. "Yes, sir." Riley was in Farkle's lap now worriedly watching Maya's eyes. "Of course, sir." Josh caught her side-eye as she bit her lip. "The longer you keep quoting Cory Matthews to me, the more of your money I'm spending when I go shopping with the girls' tomorrow." She huffed. "Are you aware that there's a Versace, Prada, _and_ a Montblanc _all_ on the same street here?" Shawn muttered something on the other end and Maya smiled. "I'm hanging up now, Shawn."

Her smile was still firmly in place as she hit the 'end' button.

"Which one of us is in trouble?" Zay popped up between Maya and Lucas, plastic spoon full of gelato still stuck in his lips.

"Oh God!" Riley's hands came up over her face, and Farkle had to reach out to keep her from toppling out of the chair. "Dad knows?!"

"No one is in trouble!" Maya shouted, smiling apologetically at the waitress that had come to refill their cups. She paused a moment. Josh watched her reevaluate her statement in her head. " _We're_ ," she gestured to her side of the table, "not in trouble."

Zay's eyes bugged. "What'd he do?" The spoon –sans gelato- was thrust in Josh's direction.

Off the top of his head, there were at least five acts that Josh had committed since he had last seen his brother that could, possibly, get him killed. Three of those might even constitute Cory hopping on the next plane to murder him personally.

None of them would have led to Maya having a calm conversation with Shawn in the middle of the afternoon. Pursing his lips, Josh readjusted his sunglasses to peer at Maya over the top of them. "What'd I do?"

"There are two sentences that you shouldn't have uttered while on the phone with your mother last night." Maya started, leaning back in her chair. She was having far too much fun with the situation. "Care to guess what they were?"

 _The guys are playing cards down in the bar._ He heard himself say. Josh could clearly see the smile on Maya's face as he covered her mouth with one hand. _Maya came up to see if I wanted to join_. And that didn't even take into account whether or not he could play off how Maya got into his room without him actually opening the door for her. In lieu of admitting his mistake, Josh blew his next breath out from between gritted teeth. "Did she hear any of your half of the conversation?"

Her grin told him that they were at least in the clear. "All you, big guy." Could Maya look any smugger?

"What?" Now Lucas was intrigued, propping his elbows on the table in front of him.

" _Someone_ ," Maya's hand came up so she could point exaggeratedly to her left, "Made the mistake of telling his Ma that he was in his room studying while the rest of us were in the hotel bar playing poker." She shifted in her seat, noting the relief on Riley's face that her father wasn't now on his way to them to castrate her boyfriend. "Were you aware that your mother and Cory gossip like little old ladies?"

Josh didn't give her the satisfaction of a response. "Did Shawn indicate whether or not I need to call my brother?"

"He said it might be wise." Maya flashed him another quick smile. "Apparently, Cory's worried about the shenanigan's I can disseminate when left unattended."

There was absolutely no warning before Will snorted his cappuccino across the table.

Josh waved a hand in the direction of Lucas and Farkle. "You had plenty of supervision."

Her head tilted to observe the guys she'd successfully relieved of almost eighty-five dollars the night before. "There's no universe in existence where I couldn't have bent the three of them to my will."

He certainly had to give her that one.

"So!" Josh pushed himself away from the table, digging two twenty Euro bills out of his pocket and handing them to Maya. "Who's riding the carousel while I'm talking my brother off a ledge?"

"Call him 'sir!'" Zay offered as Josh calculated the time difference in his head and found his brother's number on his most called list. "He likes that!"

* * *

"Uncle Boing!" Maya rolled to the left, avoiding the macaroon that Lucas tossed to Riley by a hair, and focused on her target.

Josh took another swig of his beer and shook his head. "Is there something I can give you to make you stop shouting that?"

She seemed to consider it, pulling herself up onto her knees on the bed in Farkle and Isadora's suite. They'd decided against attempting to locate evening entertainment after another amazing dinner together. Instead, they'd raided the Italian version of a bakery, bringing their prizes back to the hotel and invading the largest room, ordering drinks from room service and goofing off as a group. The group was in the second hour of dareless Truth or Dare, and Josh wondered just how many times this group had spent evenings doing this exact same thing.

Maya raised an eyebrow, her smile tugging her lips as she pointed to the last Italian Peach cookie. "Make me an offer, we'll see where it goes," Riley grunted next to her, and Maya seemed to brighten. "What is your favorite part of the human body, and why?"

It was unique. He'd give her that one. "Is this in general?" Josh set the bottle down and gestured around the room.

"Sure," Maya shrugged.

His first instinct was to say the hands. Because he had to admit, there was something that drew him to Maya's hands. She was an incredibly tactile person, always reaching, always twitching. And heaven help anyone if she got it in her mind that she needed to be sketching. But the second he said it, there had been enough hints over the last few days that would lead at least one other person straight to what they wanted to keep hidden.

Contemplating the rest of human anatomy, Josh sighed. "The eyes."

"If you say they are the windows to the soul, I get to punch you in the face." Will scoffed, taking a very manly sip of his wine. Zay nodded along emphatically.

"My eyes are my favorite part of me," Josh quoted, pointing across the room. "Not for how they look, but for how they see."

Whereas Will seemed at least a little impressed, Maya blinked. "I'll let you have the eyes, but your reason cannot contain a knockoff Tumblr quote." She shoved the rest of the peach cookie into her mouth, washing it down with a sip of Isadora's White Russian.

"Pretty sure Cory IG'd it to me a few weeks ago."

Lucas booed, tossing a macaroon in Josh's direction. "Try again!" He commanded.

"Because you can tell a lot about a person from their eyes." He said finally, his own catching Maya's blue. "Whether they're tired, or sad, trying to hide some annoyingly smug comment." Maya laughed at that, giving Farkle an overdramatic wink. "And in my personal experience," he ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "Eye contact is way more intimate than words can ever be."

Isadora rose out of her boyfriend's lap, slowly making her way across the open space to the room service tray. "And did you know that the pupil of you eye can expand up to forty-five percent when you look at someone you love?"

There was a deep sigh before Farkle pulled a coin of the pocket of his slacks and tossed it across the room to Will.

"What?"

"I bet that Smackle couldn't go twelve waking hours without giving an exact statistic." Will handed the Euro to Riley who slipped the coin into her purse at the foot of the bed. "It's your turn."

Surveying the room, Josh smiled at Lucas. "Ranger Rick!" The Texan shuddered. "Who's a better cook, you mother or your grandmother?"

"Are you trying to get him killed?" Zay's hands came up defensively, and he looked around the room without actually moving his head.

There was a giggle before Maya nodded. "He answers that, and I'm afraid the chip in his brain may report the answer to Home Base, and we'll be one short for the rest of the trip."

"Ha-Hurr." Lucas deadpanned, crossing his arms and leaning back against the arm of the chair he was lounging in. "My Mama will tell you that Grandma Ellie is the better cook." He seemed pleased with himself that he was able to actually provide an answer. "So I'm gonna have to go with that."

"Diplomatic." Riley agreed, pouring herself another glass of Chianti Classico.

"Riley!" Lucas pointed across the room at the brunette. "What is the ugliest vegetable?"

Maya looked from one side of the room to the other. "I'm not carrying you to bed when you finally admit that you're wasted, Hopalong."

"It's a legitimate question," Lucas defended.

"Celery root," Riley answered decisively. Skipping over her best friend's banter, she turned her head. "Name one app you despise but you use anyway, Farkle."

The genius didn't need time to contemplate his answer. "The app store drives me insane," he admitted quickly. "Why we need such chaos to find something useful is beyond me." Farkle accepted the drink his girlfriend was handing him and turned his eyes to Josh. "Describe your perfect girl."

Josh bit back the curse that had immediately come to mind. He'd successfully evaded this question at least two other times he'd played this game with this particular group. But he supposed that Farkle took note of that.

"You know 'the perfect' anything is a myth, right?" As much as he wanted to, Josh refused to glance over to the bed, staying focused on the genius and his girlfriend. "It's an idea that we build on from influences and life experiences that tell us what we qualities we're supposed to look for in a person." He reached for his bottle again, pulling his lip between his teeth. "I mean hell, my brother's 'perfect woman' has to compete with Shawn Hunter."

It was Riley that giggled, nodding in agreement.

"My 'perfect woman'-" Josh drained the rest of his bottle, dropping it back onto the table and reaching for the unopened beer at his feet. "Do I really have to call her that?" Farkle shrugged. "She'll be a mess of gorgeous chaos." He started again, focusing on the bottle in his hand. "A three am pizza run in the middle of winter because she has a craving for Canadian bacon." _Don't_ _look up_. He told himself. _Keep going and don't look up_. "I grew up with the ideal of true love, but something tells me that she would laugh in the face of that. She's someone who challenges everything that I thought I wanted for myself but still pushes me toward my dreams. She has to be sure of herself though." He could have sworn he heard Lucas chuckle to his left. "Even if she has no idea what she's doing, confidence is definitely key.

"And she's stubborn." He could hear Cory's voice in the back of his mind, grumbling over months of classroom antics. "So stubborn that her heart has an argument with her head every time it wants to beat." In front of him, Riley seemed to nod. "Because I may get the love of my life, but that doesn't mean she won't make me work for it."

"Dreams come true," his niece laughed, quoting her father. "Not free."

Josh took that as a sign that he was allowed to pause and take a breath. "She won't even try to make things easy on me. And she won't be the kind to put up with any bull." Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Maya sit up a little straighter. "She's the type of person that makes you want to yell and punch walls; who will ruin your day and save it at the very last minute." Another squirm and Josh gave him three whole seconds to catch her glance. "She's annoying, and hilarious, and creative. And she'll have the biggest heart; the greatest capacity to love that you'll ever see…"

He didn't even realize that he'd trialed off, suddenly staring at a spot directly over Will's head.

"I was actually thinking about a physical description." Farkle emptied his drink and nodded. "Your answer was good, though."

Lucas yawned lewdly, stretching his limbs to the point of knocking Zay in the back of the head. "I don't know about anyone else," he caught Maya's eye, "But if we're all doing this morning yoga shit I need to get to bed."

"You gonna make it to the fourth floor on your own?" Maya still refused to make eye contact with Josh. She slid off of the bed and collected the plates and glasses she and Riley had managed to scatter at the foot of the bed.

Once they were successfully stacked on the tray, Lucas threw himself at the minute blonde. "Carry me!"

"Not my division." She shrugged him off, stepping over his body in order to grab her jacket and purse from Riley. "I'll tuck you in, though."

Maya stumbled over Zay's foot, though, on her way to kiss Smackle on the cheek. "Maybe I should tuck you in," Lucas scooped her up off of the floor, cradling her against his chest. "Josh, you wanna grab her purse before she dumps it on the floor?"

Josh did as he was told, kissing Riley's forehead. "I'm planning on skipping the holistic experience," he motioned toward Will. "You wanna do breakfast?"

"I'll text you when I get up." Will took a step to the door before realizing that his girlfriend wasn't ready to leave yet.

"Good night everybody!" By the time Josh made it out of the suite, Lucas and Maya were already next to the elevators.

Maya didn't turn to look at him

"I'm gonna grab the next one." Lucas took a step back when the elevator doors opened, nodding to the blonde he had just set on her feet. Maya bit her lip. And for the first time in a while, Josh couldn't read her face. "Trust me."

He followed Maya into the elevator with one last gesture from the Texan. When the doors closed, Josh caught her gaze in the mirrored panel. "Maya, I-"

"Don't." The blonde spun away from him, and she ran a shaky hand over her face before regaining the step. Josh didn't get the chance to brace himself before her body collided with his, and she bounced up onto her toes to gain the leverage she needed to wrap her arms around his shoulders. One of them moaned –and Josh would be horrified to discover later that it was him- and he pivoted when he caught her, leveraging her hips up to his and her thighs around his waist before they both slammed into the wall behind him. She pulled away to force a breath, eyes wide. "Please don't say anything else."

Josh's hand slid from her hip to cup her cheek, and his thumb brushed her lips. "Okay," he whispered against her throat. Then he brought her lips back down to his.

* * *

Coming Soon:

 _Farkle offered up his own as Zay skipped to the table. "That's not all that's playing with you." The newcomer flipped Maya's ponytail off of the nape of her neck, eyeing what Lucas's quick glance told him was a somewhat angry bite on the backside of her jugular. "Damn." Maya snatched the braided hair out of Zay's hand, gesturing to the empty seat while running her tongue over her bottom lip. "I can't pretend to be anything but impressed."_


	30. Interlude: The Other Guy

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,492  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

"I thought you weren't up for yoga this morning?" Lucas cracked a smile as his best friend wandered bleary-eyed through the lounge.

Farkle set his phone down first, pulling his wallet out of his hoodie. "There isn't enough money in the world that would get me in there with those three." He concurred, throwing a smile at a passing server. She nodded to him, more to let him know that he'd been seen, and scurried off to deliver the tray she was carrying. "But I offered to have breakfast with you guys as consolation."

That meant that at least Smackle wasn't far behind him. "The things you do for love." He quipped.

"Speaking of." Farkle shifted in his seat, accepting a menu from the server and pointing to Lucas's cup of coffee. " _Triplo colpo espresso, si prega di_?"

"That's a segue no one likes to hear." Lucas cut him off, reaching across his plate to grab the salt.

In true Minkus fashion, Lucas's commentary was ignored. "Have you talked to Josh?"

"Every single day for the last five," Lucas said shortly. When Farkle narrowed his eyes, Lucas's leg twitched. "Okay," he snapped, "You caught us." He threw his hands up in surrender. "But it's only happened once and I promised him that I'd never let those photos see the light of day."

"This is what I imagined this conversation would be like, had I chosen to have it with _Maya_." A cup and saucer were delivered by a busboy, and Farkle nodded in thanks.

"They say that's what happens when you spend too much time with a person." At this point, it was entirely possible that Lucas was just rambling.

Farkle leveled his eyes at Lucas. "Will you stop that?"

Against his better judgment, Lucas froze. "I am really not at liberty to do anything more than crack jokes." He said after a moment, setting his fork down on the table. Farkle seemed unconvinced. "Seriously man, what do you want from me?"

"At least one straight answer?"

"I can't tell you anything I don't know." Lucas offered instead.

"You're obviously incapable of telling me anything you _do_ know." From the corner of his eye, he watched Farkle stiffen. Lucas's head shot up and he cursed under his breath when Riley entered the room. "So I'm right insofar as Riley doesn't know?"

Lucas looked away. " _That_ I can confirm."

"How long?"

"When did you first notice?" Lucas countered, standing along with the genius when Riley approached the table. Farkle pulled her chair out for her, and they both sat in unison. He had the fleeting hope that that meant the subject was dropped.

They repeated their little dance a second time when Smackle arrived a few minutes later, and Farkle took the liberty of ordering a fruit and toast plate for each of the ladies while his girlfriend checked stocks on her phone. "New Year's Eve." The genius blurted out randomly.

Lucas forced a blink to reboot his brain. It most certainly hadn't been the answer to Riley's inquiry about anyone having lunch plans. While Smackle cocked an eyebrow in their direction, the other brunette seemed happily oblivious. "Close enough for government work." Lucas supposed aloud, taking another bite of his eggs.

"Is it-"

Lucas cut him off with a shake of his head. He had no idea what the next words were gonna be out of his best friend's mouth, but it was entirely likely that his answer wouldn't have changed.

He knew the moment Maya had arrived because Riley let out a low whistle. "Did you get any sleep last night, Peaches?"

He couldn't help the smile when Maya plopped down next to him at the table, stealing a piece of bacon off of his plate. "I think the time zones are still playing with me." She groaned, too lazy to reach all the way across Lucas's plate for his coffee.

Farkle offered up his own as Zay skipped to the table. "That's not all that's playing with you." The newcomer flipped Maya's ponytail off of the nape of her neck, eyeing what Lucas's quick glance told him was a somewhat angry bite on the backside of her jugular. "Damn." Maya snatched the braided hair out of Zay's hand, gesturing to the empty seat while running her tongue over her bottom lip. "I can't pretend to be anything _but_ impressed."

There was an awkward moment where Zay offered Lucas two thumbs way up, and the Texan wasn't sure if conveyed the right level of gratitude while attempting to pretend he had no idea how teeth marks had gotten on Maya's skin.

He must have accomplished it because Zay winked at him before ordering his breakfast.

"I _was_ gonna say that you should have called down," Riley gave Maya one long blink before reaching around Zay to deposit her orange juice in front of the blonde. "But I couldn't have helped you with that."

Lucas shrugged off the small, finger-shaped bruises peeking out from the backside of the shoulder of Maya's tank top as Smackle seemed to consider the blonde. "You could have skipped yoga this morning." She offered from behind her mug. "We would have forgiven you."

"I haven't gotten a good workout in in days." Zay snorted beside her, and Maya slammed the heel of her palm into his shoulder without skipping a beat. "And I don't have it in me to run,"

If Zay had another comment or gesture, he wisely kept it to himself.

"Will's not joining us?" Farkle shifted his eyes back over to Riley, most likely to pull Lucas and Maya out of the center of attention, and he leaned in.

He didn't hear her response. Maya was leaning in to poach his eggs, and Lucas tilted forward, his lips next to her ear. "He was alive when you left the room, right?"

It had taken Lucas next to five years to not fear the grin that broke out across her face.

When she giggled, he slid his hand across the small of Maya's back to give her space to duck her head into his shoulder. "I didn't check for a pulse," she offered back just as softly. "But he was sitting up checking emails, so I think it's a safe assumption."

"Did you even wait to get back to your room?" Another giggle and Lucas shook his head. "Wait," he recanted. "Don't answer that." When her grin didn't die, he leaned back just enough to catch her eye. "Did you two talk at all?"

"What the hell was I supposed to say?" She snapped after a second. The good news was that she was still facing over his shoulder, so as long as he kept his eyes light, no one would have any idea what they were talking about. "It doesn't matter anyway," she physically shuddered. "He was playing to his audience with that whole answer thing."

"Did he tell you that?" Maya bit her lip. " _Maya_ -"

She rotated and Lucas caught the frown forming on Farkle's brow when he caught a flash of skin as her tank top caught on the back of the chair. "Don't." She snapped again, Lucas's mouth opened and she gave her head a little shake. "Stop." He frowned. "Luke."

They were starting to draw attention to themselves. Lucas redirected it when he grinned sheepishly and readjusted Maya's tank.

"This is fun." She whispered in his ear, running a hand over the other side of his neck. "And it's gonna stay fun, because if it doesn't -when it ends- things are going to get very, very messy." Her smile was bright when she pulled back. Forced, but bright. "None of us need messy."

He didn't need to be told what would happen if he decided to force the issue right there in the middle of breakfast. "I don't know," Lucas slid back into the chair, turning his head slightly to catch her eye. "You could stand a little more 'messy' in your life."

"Says the guy the entire table thinks I'm sleeping with."

For the briefest of moments, Lucas wondered just what Maya would do if he pointed out that that statement wasn't entirely true. He shared a look with the genius –who seemed entirely too interested in him and Maya even though he was leading a discussion about museums on the other side of the table- and decided that he didn't want to know.

"Hey kiddies."

It seemed that Lucas wasn't the only one not to notice Josh approach. Everyone seemed to turn and look at the newcomer in unison.

"I'm pretty sure this is how Cory's nightmares start."

"I thought you opted out of yoga?" Lucas tried to stop the grin that came with watching Smackle run her eyes over Josh and his dri-fit running pants. If she'd once referred to him as a specimen, Lucas doubted he wanted to know what Josh's classification was. It was a good thing that Farkle was very secure in their relationship.

There wasn't a chair for him in their current seating arrangement, so Josh just stepped up to the back of Maya's chair, reaching around her to grab her untouched water glass while she sipped from Riley's orange juice. "I did." He said shortly. "I'm going for my run and then Will and I are grabbing breakfast." Josh reached around Maya again, this time, to snag a piece of cantaloupe off of the plate Farkle ordered for her, and humor won out against feigned indifference when Lucas noticed the genius noticing the scratches on Josh's arm.

"And here I thought you made a fuss about sleeping in." Maya's face was almost indifferent as she swept her braid over her shoulder so she could look up at Josh.

His eyes dipped to the bite, glossing over it as he took another sip of his water. It was a wonder how he could keep his face so impassive. Whenever Maya accidently marked him, Lucas was both embarrassed and proud when it was on display. "Then I realized I'm awake anyway, why not get my day started."

Maya winced slightly as she turned more fully to face him. "Does this have anything to do with your brother chewing your ass yesterday because you left us unattended?"

While it seemed he was tempted, Josh didn't rise to take the bait. "Is there a reason you're so interested in my ass, Hart?"

Across the table, Farkle smiled.

"Just worrying about your Boy Scout image." Maya smiled at the exact same time Smackle's watch dinged and the genius announced, "Yoga time!"

Lucas missed whatever it was that Josh said to Maya under his breath as the blonde slid past him. He managed to catch the look in Maya's eyes as she tried not to smile. "Huckleberry?" Arms folded against her chest, Maya cocked an eyebrow. "You're joining us, right?"

He could hear Farkle whispering 'stay strong man' on the other end of the table even as he was standing up. Josh's smile only seemed to get bigger. "Congratulations," he muttered, stepping up to Josh so he could push his and Maya's chairs in. "You're buying breakfast."

"At least I don't have to do hot yoga." Josh threw back, pulling his wallet out of his hoodie.

* * *

Lucas had no idea how he kept winding up in these situations.

No, that was a lie. Lucas knew exactly how he wound up currently following Isadora, Riley, and Maya through shop after shop in the middle of his vacation. It was actually incredibly simple.

Maya had said 'please'.

"Take that coat off, Isadora!" The blonde shouted for the second time. "I don't give a crap about Spring in Hanover, you're summering in New York and that coat will not help you there." She spun around to level him with a glare that was supposed to keep him from laughing at her –spoiler alert, it failed- and then hopped across the shop after the genius.

Hot yoga hadn't been as horrible as he was thinking it was going to be. It probably helped that whenever he was home, Maya would force him to the gym for whatever class she was taking at the time –and yes, that included her Saturday morning Spin classes- and he had joined one of his roommates at the student center whenever the poor man's girlfriend decided he needed to 'focus on his health'. Post yoga came massages. It was a bit more horrifying than he had originally thought it would be. Lucas had never had one before, and unlike what he'd seen in the movies, he was thrust into a room with the girls -none of whom were wearing more than towels- and then told to 'relax'. Yeah, that didn't happen. He and Zay skipped out on the mani/pedis though. Zay wanted a nap, and he decided to join Farkle by the pool. It did nothing but add to his tan and frustrate the genius that he refused to offer up any more information on their morning discussion, but he was okay with that.

They caught lunch at a bistro that Lucas couldn't pronounce the name of, Maya ordering for half the table while Farkle and Isadora had a loud disagreement on the sidewalk in Italian. He still had no idea what it was about. And he had no doubt that Maya had figured it out and was trying to find a subtle way to bring it up with the dark-haired genius. Isadora had practically demanded shopping time, to which Farkle had come back with a list of monuments and historical sites that he wanted to visit, and the group had split up again.

"Whatever you want to say, say it."

Maya was turned in his direction, and it took Lucas a moment before he realized that it was because Riley was flipping through the rack to his left, eyeing the blonde.

The brunette bit her lip, flipping past a few more dressed, before finally sighing. "How much time do you spend with Josh?"

He was impressed at the control Maya seemed to have. The blonde didn't even blink as she examined the scarf in her hands. "Dinner with your family once a week," she threw out after a second. "I've been studying with him and A since Renée moved in. A few movies here or there," she shrugged. In the back of his mind, Lucas could hear her clearly state that a lie of omission couldn't be held against her. "Why, what's up?"

"Has he ever mentioned this girl he's seeing?" It was clear that Riley really didn't want to be having this conversation. She certainly didn't want to be having it with Maya. While the blonde hadn't expressed actual interest in Josh since middle school, Riley was still vested in making sure she didn't do anything that could possibly hurt Maya's feelings in any way.

Maya seemed to consider the question, left hand coming up to scratch the bite on her neck. "I don't remember Josh saying he was actually seeing someone." She countered. Lucas caught her eye, and she shook her head slightly.

"You saw the playlist." Riley abandoned her rack, scurrying over to her best friend. Lucas wasn't about to admit that he stepped up to the sunglasses rack so he could keep an ear on them. "You don't create a playlist for someone you're not seeing."

"I have a playlist for songs that remind me of _Auggie_." Again, Maya was incredibly nonchalant. She also nodded to Riley's purse, where her phone was as if to remind the younger girl that she had one too. "You've also got one dedicated to purple cats." Her point made, Maya turned back to the rack.

Riley wasn't about to give up. "Then what's with his 'perfect girl' last night?" She caught Maya's wrist, and the smaller girl winced when Riley inadvertently pushed the bangles into the bruise they were there to hide. Yeah, Lucas wasn't looking forward to that conversation. He honestly didn't know when or where would be the best place to start it. "He was describing _someone_."

"Of course, he was describing _someone_." Maya shook her best friend off, rolling her eyes. "We all have the idea of what we want our perfect person to be." Shaking her head, Maya nodded to Lucas. "Don't we, Luke?"

"You're not dragging me into this." He picked up a pair of shades, pretending to be interested in them.

But he knew that Maya's deflection had already worked.

Riley ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the ends. "I'm just worried about him." She swallowed, and Maya pulled a bottle of water out of her bag without looking at the brunette and passed it over.

"You're worried about Josh?" Was it Lucas's imagination or did Maya break for a moment, eyebrows hitting her hairline? " _Perché_?"

"What do you know about the girl?" Riley spun now, sloshing water onto her hand. "And if he's not telling us, then Dad probably doesn't know, which means that he's trying to keep her a secret, and _that_ can't end well." Maya's eyes fell to the floor, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "And why wouldn't he tell us about her? Is he embarrassed of her, or is it us? If he's trying to keep it from the family, does that mean that he doesn't trust me? I-"

Maya's left hand came up to cover Riley's lips as her right relieved Riley of the water bottle she was gesticulating around. "Deep breath, Riles." She gave her best friend time to follow her direction. Capping the bottle, Maya dropped it back into her bag practically one handed and it came out holding her phone. "I don't even know which one of those questions to start with."

"Why doesn't Josh trust me?" Riley slid into one of the chairs next to the dressing stalls. From a few doors away, Isadora seemed to snort.

"Why does it have to be about you?" She countered, following Riley to the chairs.

Lucas made the strategic position to stay where he was.

He also made the mental note that Maya had been in her current conversation for almost ten minutes now, and she hadn't broken any of the 'rules'. Yeah, he was most likely going to be responsible for spiking her drink later so she wouldn't have the panic attack that he could see brewing, but it would be worth it.

Riley reached for the water again while Maya tapped something into her phone. "It's not about me." She insisted, taking a long swallow. "It doesn't have to be about me." She shrunk further into the chair as she capped the bottle. "I was making it about me, wasn't I?"

"It happens." Maya shrugged her off. "But –and we're going off of your assumption here- what if Josh is 'seeing' someone?" Lucas grinned over at them when he realized that she used air quotes along with her generalization. Couple that with the fact that Maya stated they were going with Riley's assumption, therefore technically anything she said that contradicted the truth, could be based on that. He agreed with Josh on many things, the chief among them was that Maya could talk circles around anyone. "What if it's new? What if he's not sure it's going to last? What if it's _her_ that thinks it's too soon?" It took Riley a moment to catch on to the point Maya was trying to make, but when she did, she smiled. "You of _all_ people know what it's like to want to make something last. Maybe it's just not at the 'meet the family' stage. It took you how long to refer to Will as your boyfriend in front of anyone?"

Three months, Lucas answered for her in his mind.

And he'd had to listen to Maya go on and on (and on) about it while Riley was working through the issue.

There was a giggle from behind the curtain closest to them, and Maya turned. "And don't get me started on _you_ , Isadora Cicelle." There was a squeak and Riley laughed. "It depends on the day of the week whether or not you deem yourself dating our dear Farkle, and _you've_ done naughty Mile High Club things with him!"

Lucas is pretty sure that forgoing a trip to any monument was worth watching two out of three girls try desperately not to blush at how bluntly –and loudly- Maya stated that fact. He was fairly certain that it was a good thing the girl at the counter didn't understand English.

"If Josh is seeing someone," she circled back around to the point she was trying to make easily, Smackle apparently trying to regain her dignity in the changing stall before joining them. "Then you should let him have his moment." There was a lot more truth to that statement than anyone probably realized. It probably had more to do with the fact that Maya was still trying to convince herself that a moment was all she was going to get. She took a breath, blowing it out of her nose before forcing a smile. "When he wants you to know, you'll know." She bopped her best friend on the nose, leaving her bag in the seat as she stood and walked to a rack of cardigans. "In the meantime, stop being a Cory." Riley chuckled, and Maya did too. "He already has one of those."

"That was extremely well done." Lucas joined her at the rack, leaning an arm against the wood.

Maya slammed her forehead into his shoulder. Her first deep breath was most likely full of nothing but Downy and aftershave. She didn't step back to blow the breath out of her mouth before taking another one. "Shut up." She muttered finally.

"Riley's looking at you." Lucas could clearly see the brunette watching them from between the racks, even as she scrutinized Smackle's outfit.

Maya lifted her forehead only slightly. "Yeah."

Sliding a hand up her back, Lucas dropped his lips directly between her brows. "You need to tap out for a bit? I can say I need a drink?"

" _I_ need a drink." She sighed, blowing breathe out of puffed lips. "But I can't add to the suspicion."

"What can I do?" It was awkward, keeping his face down so Riley couldn't read his lips, but Lucas managed anyway.

"Stop me from sleeping with him in the first place," Maya muttered to herself. Years of practice and very healthy hearing are probably the only reasons why he had been able to catch it. The actual skill came from glancing down at her without actually glancing down at her.

Currently, Maya still had her forehead pressed to his sternum, hair falling to the side to allow him a clear view of the side of her face. Her eyes were closed, which wasn't a new thing. Close contact like this, it was rare that her eyes were open unless she was actually looking up at him. One hand was attached to the back of her neck, covering the bite and pressing down on the bruising around it. Her other hand was anchored to his hip, fingers digging into the leather of his belt. If it weren't a tell that Riley knew intimately, Maya's hand would most likely be pulling her own hair out.

Lucas had to admit that this was the first time in three months that he had wished she wasn't in–whatever it was she was calling her tryst with Josh. Some things would be easier to deal with if he had the freedom to touch her the way he used to.

"You don't mean that." He forced a smile and took a step back from her. Not far enough that she released him, but she had to look up at him now.

On the other side of the room, Riley and Isadora were thumbing through sun dresses.

Maya's eyes flicked to his before rolling. "There are times…" She let her voice trail off, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. She'd braided the crown, to keep it out of her face, and let the rest fall back in waves in order to minimalize the stares –mostly Zays- on her neck. She'd also borrowed one of Riley's three-quarter shrugs when she opted for another strapless maxi dress that day because the bruising on her shoulder was a bit worse after her massage and she didn't need anyone else asking questions.

With one eye still on the girls behind her, Lucas stepped forward again. "No there aren't."

"I hate you too, Huckleberry." She announced, smile getting wider. He didn't point out that her breathing had returned to normal, and the tension in her arm had abated some.

He dropped his lips to her ear, smiling into her hair. "If I were any other guy, Shortstack."

"Didn't you two get enough of that last night?" Riley shouted over the muted pop song bubbling through the boutique.

Maya flipped her hair again, before taking a step back and spinning to face the other ladies. "You can _never_ get enough of that, Pumpkin." She answered sagely, not even attempting to hide a smirk. Smackle seemed to nod next to the brunette. " _Especially_ if it's done right."

"I no longer have to be here," Lucas shoved his hand in his pocket, double checking that she hadn't lifted his wallet, again. All eyes were suddenly on him. "Right?"

While Riley couldn't seem to stop staring, Maya nodded. "While you're pretending not to run away from girl talk, can you find me an espresso?"

It took three steps to come up behind her, his hand squeezing her bruised hip and watching as she forced herself not to flinch. If she was going to inadvertently throw him under the bus for something that he had nothing to do with, he was going to remind her why it would be a bad idea. "Sure thing." He left a sloppy kiss on her check and tipped an imaginary hat to the ladies, already trying to remind himself of their drinks of choice before they got the chance to shout it at him.

* * *

"I'm gonna buy you ten minutes." Lucas didn't bother saying hello when they all met for dinner, instead sliding in beside Josh to pretend to look at the menu he was standing in front of. Tonight's meal was Da Nerbone, a market stand that served traditional Tuscan food, followed by a Medieval Florence Evening Walking Tour. They would end up at the Uffizi, to receive an exclusive small-group tour of the museum at night. But Lucas wasn't thinking that far ahead.

Josh spared him a glance over his shoulder. "That's not at all cryptic." He muttered, stifling a chuckle when Riley announced that Maya was ordering for anyone who hadn't already decided what they were going to eat.

"You didn't let me finish." Lucas shook his head when Maya winked at him and turned away from the group. "I'm going to buy you ten minutes, and you're going to do, whatever it is you do, to get Maya's head back on straight."

"Isn't that what they usually hire you for?" While Lucas was farther away from the group, Josh was within a foot and a half of his niece, and whatever was running through his head most likely wouldn't go well with the image Maya was trying to project.

It was entirely possible that Lucas now fully understood Farkle's frustration that morning. "Ya know," he smiled at the others, turning just long enough to make eye contact with Josh and step away again. Amazingly enough, Josh followed. "If you really want me to, I will, but I'm pretty sure that that would make things in your room just a bit more awkward when we all got back to the hotel."

And suddenly Josh understood what Lucas was trying not to say too loudly.

He also took another step away from the group. "What's up?"

"Riley asked Maya about your 'mystery girl' while they were shopping today." Josh cursed, the fingers on his right hand twitching against his thigh in order to keep himself from running the hand through his hair. "She dodged it pretty well, no _actual_ lying," that was a distinction that he wasn't about to make when Maya couldn't meet Riley's eyes –three hours after the initial conversation- without getting twitchy. "But-"

Josh caught his eye. "She's Maya."

Lucas nodded. "You get bonus points for telling everyone paying attention last night that she is the epitome of your dream girl."

Another curse.

Yeah, there was no real reason for Lucas to bring that up other than the fact that he'd been dealing with a twitchy and slightly self-loathing Maya Hart for the bulk of the day when Josh was hanging with the guys after a night of what looked to be amazing sex. And yes, Lucas understood that that wasn't exactly Josh's fault.

"That's what Riley latched onto." He warned his counterpart. "If Farkle hadn't asked, or you hadn't given such a..." Lucas groped for the word. "A _complete_ description of your 'perfect girl'." It was entirely possible he used air quotes on that one. "I think Riley would have let the playlist drop."

"She really is Cory with Topanga's hair." The older man muttered.

Maya balanced a tray in one hand and her wallet in the other as she side-eyed them on the way to the café tables Will had readjusted. "She loves her family." Lucas offered, tapping Josh on the arm and nodding in the direction of the tables. They started moving together, and Lucas purposely chose the seat closest to Maya, allowing her to wrap her leg around his to ground herself. "What'd we get?"

He didn't have to tell Maya that she had Farkle's full attention. Lucas guessed it was some sort of odd coincidence that Will, Isadora, and Zay were arguing about medieval painters while Riley furiously texted her parents –because Cory seemed to require more than Instagram posts and Facebook statuses to assure him that his daughter was still alive- that allowed Farkle the freedom to glance at them over the top of his smartphone. He didn't want to think that the two geniuses had gotten over whatever disagreement they had had –Maya wouldn't tell- and begun to work together. Lucas might actually have to warn Josh and Maya if that happened.

Maya passed him his bag, stealing a sip of his Pellegrino before scooting it in front of him as well. " _Panini con bollito_." She'd seemed to order to the same thing for Josh, so Lucas had hope that it wasn't anything incredibly odd.

He really needed to learn whatever language was required for their next group trip abroad.

"And we're going back to _Dolci Pensieri_ before the tour." Riley was talking over the top of her phone, eyes still glued to the screen as she ate a spoonful of her soup.

Lucas tilted his head to the blonde, eyes catching Josh's. "Did you not gorge yourself on enough pastries last night?" Will dropped out of the conversation with the others long enough to lean over and press a kiss to Riley's temple, trying not to groan at the thought of taking the ladies back into the _panetteria_.

His girlfriend didn't blink. "I owe Maya _torrone_ for her letting Smackle and I pick up a few things for her today." There was a flaw in that logic, and Will's hair flopped over his forehead as he shifted to frown at Riley.

It didn't last. Farkle's laugh seemed to startle everyone. "If I throw in a _granita_ for all three of you," he indicated the girls with his napkin, "Do you think we could forgo the argument that's gonna happen when I pay?"

"I don't know what kind of girl you think I am, Minkus." Maya's smile was back in full force now, and Lucas was relieved to see that it was genuine. "You're gonna owe me some more _pesche_ _dolci_ if you're gonna throw the Minkus expense account at me again today."

"You drive a very hard bargain," Farkle grinned back at her. Lucas wasn't sure what it was that Farkle had paid for, but he knew that that was Maya's way of forgiving him for doing it. "I'll even get some for the road." Maya nodded stiffly, smile still playing at her lips, and took another bite of her panini.

Farkle, on the other hand, cut his eyes to Lucas's, smile dulling to a smirk as he telegraphed that they men hadn't been as quiet earlier as they thought they had.

But Maya was sliding her hand over his knee as she not so covertly tried to steal another sip of his drink, the tension finally absent from her arms. So he could keep that secret a little while longer too.

* * *

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

And you guys asked for it, so I obliged. **8tracks [slash] andthemomentsgone [slash] hart** for Josh's Playlist for Maya!

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

 _"She's just the way she is." He held his breath, waiting for the next part of that statement. He still wasn't aware of how he wound up in this discussion anyway. "Nobody's told her that that's okay"_


	31. Interlude: In Between the Lines

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,015  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

The very first thing Josh did after his alarm went off that morning was to verify that his photos had uploaded to his Dropbox. The very next thing was to delete any image taken between the time they had eaten dinner the night before and that very moment.

Then he called down for coffee service.

He had enough time to slide in and out of a quick shower, get dressed, and pack up his belongings before room service arrived. There was an odd note of surprise when the man told him the tip had already been given, and he discovered that coffee service for two somehow meant that he got a fruit plate and pastries as well. Trying not to think too much about it, Josh set the tray on the desk and climbed back into the bed prepared to do battle with the naked blonde that had taken up residence.

"You're overdressed for this meeting." Maya hadn't opened either eye yet, running her hand over his cheek and down to his shoulders blindly as Josh bent to nip at her collarbone. There had been a very strict 'no biting' rule implemented the night before, but he figured as long as he didn't leave any [more] marks, he should be fine. She shifted underneath him, and Josh allowed himself to be pulled under the blankets with her.

His teeth grazed her clavicle, sliding lower as the hand not supporting himself skidded over the inside of her hip. "And you're gonna be late."

Both eyes popped open then, Maya searching his for something he couldn't name. "If you're about to tell me that we don't have time for this, I'm sleeping somewhere else tonight."

His hand moved when his lips did, fingers shifting down intimately as his lips took hers. "I'm about to tell you that I woke you up fifteen minutes early." He whispered across her breath. "So shut up and enjoy it before I force you into a shower."

Whatever Maya was going to say was cut off when his lips descended again. There was a raw part of him that took it as a win.

They hadn't talked at all the night before. At least not about anything important. Lucas had managed to get them five uninterrupted minutes while everyone debated their sweet of choice in the bakery. Josh had gotten out the words 'are you okay' while Maya had taken a deep breath into his shirt before they spent the rest of the time making out against the side of the building.

He wanted to complain. That wasn't what he was trying to accomplish when he tapped his fingers against her wrist and backed out of the shop. But the end result was her smiling and laughing –and demanding piggyback rides from everyone while Lucas carried her shopping bags- so Josh really wasn't allowed to complain much.

Maya's entire body convulsed beneath him, and Josh stopped thinking in favor of swallowing her next moan.

"Good morning." Another kiss and Josh shifted on his elbow in order to pull her against him with both hands, rolling onto his back.

There was a long, slow breath before Maya just plain giggled. "Good morning." She agreed. Josh brushed his lips against her hairline. He knew his phone was going to beep at any second, and if he didn't get Maya moving, there was a chance for further embarrassment. "If I tell you there are coffee and pastry, will you get into the shower so I can finish packing up?"

Her groan was loud and dirty, and Maya buried her head into the material on his chest as she shook her head. "Do I have to?"

"No," Josh spared a glance at the clock on the side table and tried to calculate whether or not he could reach his phone from where he was laying. He couldn't. "But if we're not downstairs by the time Riley is, you're gonna have some more 'splainin' to do."

"How long's the train ride?" Maya sat straight up, planting her butt on the bed so she could stretch herself out.

Josh barely flinched when her back actually popped. "Hour and a half," he frowned, sliding behind her so he could climb off the bed. "I think." He paused to drop a kiss to her shoulder before actually completing the action. "Not as long as from Venice to here."

She snagged his shirt from the night before off of the floor on her way to the desk. Which was exactly why Josh had left it where it was when he was collecting his stuff. "You gonna try to sneak some thesis time on the train?"

"You gonna try to stop me from sneaking some thesis time on the train?" Josh cocked his head to the side at the same time she did, and Maya laughed before she popped a berry between her lips. "I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't." He turned to the pile of dirty laundry on the chair beside him, separating it into his and hers before rolling his to stick in the cinch sack he kept in his rolling suitcase. They had been instructed to utilize the hotel's laundry services at every stop, in order to reduce the amount of clothing that they had to pack. Not that the girls paid attention to that, Maya, for one, just used it as an excuse to pack more. He'd leave the newest set –two days' worth from their time in Florence- to be washed while they were out today in Rome.

He knew for a fact that Maya had a cinch sack of her own stashed in a side pocket in her suitcase. After all, it was an Amy Matthews graduation tradition to provide a matching set of luggage –complete with laundry bag- for every young adult in the family who received their High School diploma. But Josh knew that if he pulled hers out to repeat the process when she could see him, he would just earn himself some kind of 'mother hen' joke.

Maya popped another berry, and had another deep swig of her coffee before she slid across the room. "You'd 'greatly appreciate it'?"

"You need to shower." He countered, shoving the sack back into his suitcase. "And I have to defend this bitch next month in order to graduate." Maya nodded knowingly, sliding up to him and lacing her fingers behind his neck. "I need all the prep time I can get."

"I'll sit with Riley and Smackle." She offered, pulling him down for a lazy kiss. "Lucas is trying to get a head start on class reading. Zay'll be asleep," they both chuckled at that one, "And I'm not sure what Will is planning, but he'll do it happily away from BFF chatter."

Josh dropped a kiss to her nose. "You're too good to me, Hart."

"That vice is _definitely_ versa." Maya pulled back then, taking three steps backward and then yanking his shirt off of her body before turning to the en suite. "I laid out what I wanted to wear yesterday," she announced. "Suitcase is all yours!"

* * *

True to her word, there was no instigation during the ride from Florence to Rome. That wasn't to say that she didn't torment everyone between the hotel and the train station. Will promised her decision-making powers on a lunch restaurant and her choice of seats on the train if she could hold it together long enough for them to get out of the cab.

Maya had used that as an excuse to flop back onto Riley, and give Lucas and Josh in the seat behind her an overdramatic wink, before stealing the brunette's phone and searching through her selfies from the first half of the trip.

When Riley inquired as to the location of the blonde's phone, Maya merely blinked, gesturing vaguely between her purse, carry-on and the trunk area where her suitcase lied.

The second they were loaded onto the train, Maya sequestered herself in the window seat as far away from Josh as she could get. She pulled Riley in next to her and pointed to the row opposite when Will inquired as to where he was allowed to sit. As per the norm, Zay was asleep the second his butt hit the window seat –this time with Josh across from him instead of beside- and Josh was able to plug in his Bluetooth headphones and get a full hour of presentation prep. Then Farkle decided that they needed an update on the 'when in Rome' situation, and he was forced to pack his bag back up while he was informed, for the third time, about hotel reservations, sight-seeing possibilities and dinner arrangements.

Since this was their last weigh station before they went home, and the group would be spending four nights in this locale, Stuart had decided to surprise the kids by putting them in the prestigious Hotel Raphaël. All of the young adults had tried not to be impressed when they'd been informed that they were staying in what was referred to as the 'historic center' of the city itself. Not even Josh needed a translation when their drivers kept enunciation 'centro storico' and 'fortunato' in the same breath.

Their hotel was literally two minutes away –on foot, Farkle seemed compelled to repeat over and over again- from the Piazza Navona, and some of the world's most admired monuments. They were also a very short cab ride from St. Peter's and the Vatican, the Spanish Steps, and the Colosseum. Just because he knew that it would excite the girls, Will even paid their driver a little extra to make sure their route from the train station to the hotel included a quick pass by the Trevi Fountain.

"No." Smackle saw the glint in Maya's eyes as Plaza di Trevi came into view.

The blonde didn't seem to hear her, turning her head slightly to lock eyes with Zay.

Farkle caught Zay's eye when Maya didn't seem to want to cooperate, shaking his head. "No."

Not wanting to add to whatever crazy that the geniuses were trying to prevent, Will leaned back into the seat he shared with Josh and Lucas and quirked an eyebrow. " _Che cosa_?"

"La Dolce Vita," Lucas muttered under his breath. " _Ballando nella fontana di Trevi_." His chin jerked in the direction of the seat in front of them in the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

If Josh didn't already understand that Maya and her love of musicals and old movies were going to have to force the rest of them to try to keep her from getting arrested for dancing in the Trevi Fountain, the grin that Maya threw to the three of them in the back seat would have cinched it. It didn't matter that Josh wasn't fluent in Italian.

While Will was trying to decide whether or not the entire group was joking, Josh locked eyes with Maya over Riley's shoulder. The 'no' he mouthed would probably have been more effective if he didn't know that she wouldn't have to work hard to get him in there with her.

His smile probably didn't help either.

They arrived in minimal fanfare, and Maya abandoned the entire group the second they pulled up to the ivy-covered façade. While Farkle and Smackle handled check-in, Maya and Riley wandered the lobby, both enthralled by the paintings and sculptures that littered the walls. There were artefacts that could only be referred to as antiquarian, and a collection of Picasso ceramic and Mayan art everywhere they looked.

Once again Farkle announced that they were not all on the same floor. And once again everyone had to remind the genius that no one cared that he and Smackle had been upgraded to the best suite. Or that Riley and Will were sharing a room.

They were on the floor with Zay though, so Maya couldn't help the jab about babysitting as she, Josh, and Lucas got off on the floor below them.

After they were settled, Maya announced to the entire group via text that she was taking Farkle's suggestion that they lunch in the hotel –with a view of almost the entire city- while they divvied up which monuments they needed to see that day versus what could wait until after they took their group tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel the next day.

"At some point, I'm eating at Farinè la Pizza this weekend," Maya announced as everyone was arguing the pros and cons of the Borgia's themed tour of the Castel Sant'Angelo versus the ghost and mystery walking tour that included the exact same location.

Josh grinned at her over the top of his aviators as Will rolled his eyes. Both men had already announced that they weren't doing the ghost tour, but they were more than willing to find something to do with themselves while everyone else attended. "You're going to eat _pizza_ in _Italy_?" When Maya just raised an eyebrow and nodded once, Will stuttered. "That's original."

"Originality was not a stipulation of this trip, Bixby." Maya reminded him with a smile. She had opted for one of her tote bags again, transferring one of her smaller sketch pads and her Prismacolor Graphite drawing sets from her carry-on before following everyone up to the roof. She'd been eyeing the view ever since they'd gotten up there, but a short glance down told Josh that she had opted to toy with the image of Smackle and Farkle's hands absently clutched together on the tabletop instead. "Besides," she went on, not bothering to look up at him again. "Shawn made sure I put it on my list. Apparently, it's a big deal."

"I figured we could do that for lunch tomorrow. Before the Vatican." Farkle was another one that didn't break stride, finishing up his text message to his father one-handed while his girlfriend fed him pieces of her dessert beignet. Maya shrugged, "works for me."

Josh wished that everything was that easy with the blonde.

Across the table, Lucas made a note that if everyone was going to make it through five days in Rome –okay three days in Rome and one-day trip to Naples and Pompeii- that he would have to remind Josh how well Maya took to the dark chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries that Riley had ordered for her.

"You guys can have your ghost tour." The blonde caught Riley's eye across the table. Whatever it was that they exchanged without words seemed to soothe the brunette. "I'm seeing the Trevi Fountain lit up at night."

"Would you mind accompaniment?" Farkle dropped his phone to the table and reached for his water glass.

Maya shrugged. "Doesn't bother me." Privacy wasn't something that Maya expected outside of their hotel room anyway. Josh couldn't remember if it was something that she'd actually said was allowed.

"The site strongly advises we assemble at the Sant'Andrea della Valle promptly at nine p.m." Smackle read from the phone Farkle had discarded. "It is approximately ninety minutes long. Will that be long enough for you four to visit your destination?"

Maya shrugged. "Fine with me."

"Were you guys wanting to walk?" Farkle had relieved Smackle of his phone, flipping to another app. "I think I'd prefer to take a car to the Plaza," again he looked up in Maya's direction. Josh had the sinking suspicion that even if he and Will agreed with Farkle, Maya's word would be law. When the blonde didn't comment, he turned to his girlfriend and Riley. "I can arrange one for you four if you'd like."

"I don't mind the walk." It was Riley who spoke up, looking at the tablet that was laying on the table. "It's what? Seven, maybe eight blocks to the church?"

Smackle looked up at the clouds for a moment. "Seven point four five, six four-"

"Close enough," Zay cut her off with a grin.

"And then another nine from the _Castal_ back to the hotel?" Riley looked at the group debating the tour. "That's less than we'd walk during a day around the city at home." Smackle's mouth opened just enough for Zay to reach across Lucas to place his hand over it. "All for?" Lucas's hand rose at the same time Riley's did. Smackle lifted her hand carefully, and it took Zay just a little longer to realize that the hand everyone else was raising was currently being used to keep the raven haired girl silent.

"Aye's have it."

* * *

With more time in the city than in the previous ones, they all agreed to forgo wandering aimlessly around for the afternoon in favor of a guided tour. Once that had been decided, Farkle opened the floor to suggestions.

Then he immediately closed the floor after having seven people shout destinations at him.

The immediate idea of going on with their idea for the Castel Sant'Angelo tour was shot down due solely for the fact that they weren't able to get tickets for a group as large as them that day. Farkle picked up the next available and moved on to Plan B. Everyone had been up for the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum –Zay's only stipulation had been that he wanted to see the underground and Third ring- so the plan was made and they were off.

Starting off on the tour of the Colosseum, most of the group had hung back while the two geniuses worked with the tour guide to make sure that everyone in the fifteen-person group they were a part of had more information than they really needed. Josh toyed with his camera while Maya and Riley harassed Will about not being a fan of small, tight spaces that could collapse on him. When that was no longer fun, the blonde fell back to wander with him and Lucas while Riley began the process of cheering him up.

Josh had made sure to pull the man aside later to make sure that he hadn't been that bothered –if he had, they would have to rethink the catacombs tour they had planned later in the weekend- and laughed when he realized that both Riley and Maya had been played.

When Will had questions about the area they were touring, the dynamic changed again; the med student moving up to walk with the geniuses and Zay and Riley dropping back, the latter manning the camera.

"What is Josh-"

"No." Maya cut her best friend off with a wave of her hand. "He's been humming that damn musical since yesterday, and if you ask him, he just might start singing." Lucas readjusted her grip on his bicep as they moved around yet another column. There was a chuckle ahead of them, and Maya leveled her gaze at Zay. "And if that happens, someone will die."

It seemed as if Zay took Maya seriously for all of five seconds. "Whatcha humming?"

"You're gonna go first." Maya mouthed loudly.

"Last Five Years." Josh stopped running his hand along the wall. He was determined to commit the entirety of the labyrinth that they were allowed to see to memory so he could map it when they got back to the hotel. As a student of history, this experience was just plain cool. As an architecture fanatic –and he wasn't going to let Maya know that he was using that term to describe himself at this juncture- it was indescribable.

Apparently, Zay hadn't heard of that particular musical. "What's the song?"

"'Nobody Needs to Know'." Lucas snorted, earning himself a quick –and painful- heel to the foot as Maya schooled her features. "And don't let her fool you," he pointed at Maya as Riley's eyes danced. "It's her fault."

"Uh-uh!" Maya spun then, using Lucas as a pivot point so she didn't lose her balance and could still keep pace with the group.

"Uh-huh!" Josh didn't drop his finger, "You were singing 'that damn musical' the entire time we were in the bakery!"

" _Panetteria_." Maya corrected as if the fact that he hadn't said it in Italian would somehow negate its truth. "And I was singing 'I Can Do Better'." He dropped his hand and licked his lower lip. The number he had had going through his mind all day was literally the next track on the album after the one she had claimed to have started with.

But they both knew that that was neither the reason for it getting stuck in his head nor her argument against it.

He caught her eye, giving her an overdramatic wink as he started another verse, "Come back to bed, kid." Riley was giggling in earnest now, and Josh skipped the next line one purpose. "I promise I won't lie to you."

There was a family behind them. It was probably the only reason why she chose to mouth her next two words instead of saying them out loud. It was certainly why when Riley finally got control of herself and turned to look at them again, and Josh blew the blonde a kiss, Maya flipped her braid over her shoulder –smacking her best friend in the chin- and let go of Lucas to stomp to the front of the group.

Will inquired why Maya was suddenly cuddling up to him, Maya huffed, and Josh took three quick steps to catch up to his niece and the Texan.

"She'll get over it." He promised Riley with another wink.

Riley seemed to consider him for a moment. "Thank you."

Brows furrowed, Josh's face scrunched. "Antithetical much?"

"No!" She was quick to wave her hand in the direction of her best friend. "Not that!" Then it was Riley's face wrinkling together. "Well, maybe…"

Josh side-eyed her. "Yes or no: you're thanking me for annoying Maya?"

"Yes," she started before shaking her head. "No." This time, Josh waited for the nonsensicalness of her answer to catch up to Riley. "You kind of stepped up this year when you didn't have to." The dots were slowly clicking together, but Josh wasn't going to connect them for her. "Maya needed a friend, and you were there, and-" She cut herself off, swallowing. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he shrugged. "Not that I think I did anything that deserves it." He thought back to that first party, catching Maya on the street and offering to share a cab ride home. "I'm pretty sure that I would have made all the same decisions if we hadn't been the only two people left." Will laughed at something ahead of them and Josh mentally amended his statement. Technically speaking, it was him, Will, and Maya in the city. But William Bixby was a pre-med student with a full course load, societal responsibilities laid out by his parents, a pledge schedule for his father's fraternity, and an out of state girlfriend. It was entirely possible that this was the only time they would see him between the start of the semester and Josh's graduation.

But Riley certainly didn't see it that way. "You're a good guy, Josh." She gave his bicep a quick pat.

"She makes it easy," he said without thinking. When Riley's lips curled, his did too. "Most of the time."

A squeak and a shout, and the entire group paused to watch Maya whirl around in shock and stare at Isadora. "None of you are nice people!" She decided loudly. It took half a second for Lucas to exchange a look with Riley, less time than that for him to bring his forefinger up to his nose and smile widely.

* * *

It wasn't until dinner that Josh had been reminded that his job as the unofficial 'chaperone' had more than one requirement. Apparently, it wasn't enough in his brother's mind that he was trailing behind seven teenagers in a foreign city, making sure that everyone was healthy and alive and maintained their full faculties.

The reality of what he was actually doing may have been slightly different, but Cory didn't need to know that.

Riley had forgotten to check in with her father when they'd gotten settled into the hotel. Josh knew this because –instead of calling his daughter, or sending anyone else a quick text- Cory interrupted dinner by calling Josh's phone; twice.

The third time Will made the mistake of mentioning that it was almost two p.m. in the city and that if Cory was taking time off of work to call, it might actually be important. Josh answered the phone without thinking that it was actually a lot more likely that with Shawn leaving for an assignment in London, and Topanga still getting used to her new position in the firm, Cory just no longer had anyone reigning him in when he began to worry about the girls in said foreign city. Which was why Josh wound up trailing behind the group as they wandered through street vendors in the _Piazza Navona_ listening to his brother rant about the importance of communication.

"You're the adult here!" Cory shouted, and Josh prayed that the man hadn't made the call from a classroom. "You're supposed to remind them that they have responsibilities!"

What Josh wouldn't give for the moral high ground if he hung up on his brother. "Legally we're all adults here." Josh threw back. And yeah, it wasn't entirely true, but Isadora's eighteenth birthday was two days away, so he felt that the argument could still be made. "And no one's dead, dying, injured, zip-tied in a closet, handcuffed to a bed, or physically incapacitated in any other way." Josh watched Maya's eyebrow arch halfway through a sentence to Riley about the work of art they were standing in front of, but there was no other indication that anyone else had heard him.

"That's not the point!" He could hear the vein in Cory's forehead pulsing.

Josh tuned him out as he blustered more on about worried parents and children abroad. He knew the only way to make it out of this conversation unscathed was to just let his brother run out of steam. So while Cory wasted minutes, Josh focused on the pieces that Maya was perusing, catching himself in a smile when her fingers absently brushed over a couple kissing on a balcony with Saint Peter's dome in the sunset behind them.

He was reaching for his wallet before he could stop himself.

Lucas caught the motion just as he relieved it of a handful of Euros. If he hadn't just promised Cory that everyone was uninjured –and physically abusing one of the two closest friends his lover had weren't generally frowned upon- Josh would have knocked his smug smile off of his face.

"What?" He mouthed instead. "I've got an apartment to furnish." He added as he passed Lucas the bills. When the Texan said nothing, Josh rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, go make Maya smile."

"What was that?" Would this phone call never end?

He had actually forgotten that he hadn't muted the phone. "Maya wants to drop out of college and sell her art in Europe." Josh's mouth physically hurt from the smile on his face as Lucas presented Maya with her newly acquired piece and Riley caught on to the conversation that Josh was having with her father. "I told her that was completely cool." There was a squeak on the other end of the line and Josh tried to feel bad that his brother was apparently having some sort of meltdown. "Oh! And it's okay that we're selling Zay to Gypsies so Riley and Will can buy a Villa here, right?"

"Riley calls me by eight tomorrow morning or I'm coming over there!" His brother announced suddenly, and Josh couldn't hold back his laughter. "I'm calling Shawn!"

The line went dead, and Josh slid it into his pocket as he discovered he now had all of the teen's attention. "Set yourself a reminder to call your dad tomorrow after lunch." He nodded to Riley. While his niece was digging her phone out of her bag, Josh sent a quick text to warn Shawn of what he'd done. "I'm going to hell."

"Eh," Maya stepped up as Farkle turned back to the jewelry display he and Isadora were perusing. "It's good for him to get excited every now and then." She was biting her lip to stop herself from saying something. Then she backtracked. "Gets his heart pumping." He eyed the tube in her hand with a smile. This wasn't one of the instances where Josh was actually expecting a thank you. He knew that she appreciated it. "I have no idea how I'm going to get this home."

"You should have room in your suitcase." A bit farther down the Plaza, Riley called her name, and Maya turned. "If not, we'll ship it."

Maya handed the tube over, eyes bright when Josh groaned when he realized he should have expected it was coming, and scampered off after her friend.

* * *

"How's she doing?"

The group as a whole had caught a few street shows on their way back to the hotel after enjoying _Piazza Navona_ , Riley and Isadora scurrying off to change clothes for the ghost tour while Farkle arranged a car for those not going. Then came the touching goodbye scene –Maya may or may not have shouted 'you'll only be gone for two hours, kiss her so I can have gelato' in the middle of the hotel lobby when Will and Riley were taking too long- and they all were off to their next destinations.

Josh hadn't heard Farkle come up behind him. It was possible that it was because he was focused on the way that Maya's eyes danced in the lights around the plaza. He didn't falter, though, shrugging and adjusting his hand in his jeans pocket. "In what context?"

If he'd expected any other answer, Farkle didn't show it. "In the Maya context," he supplied in the same tone. "I know that this year has been a huge change for her. We've all gone off in our own directions; Riley's becoming more dependent on Will, Lucas is in Ithaca, I'm on the other side of the country." Farkle shrugged. "And we've all reached out, tried to make sure no one feels like they've been abandoned…" He trailed off as Will handed Maya some kind of coin from his pocket and she spun three times before launching it backward over her head into the fountain. "But Maya's the only one who didn't go anywhere, and psychologically speaking that can be a very disheartening position."

Neither man heard what Will said to her after her toss, but Josh almost had to stop himself from intervening when her response was to flick a handful of water at the man. "Does she look disheartened to you?"

"That's the kind of response I'd expect from Riley." It was the truth. Josh wasn't sure what to do with that.

"I think she has her days." Weeks of close quarters during winter break and talking to his brother and Shawn taught Josh that generalization worked better with 'I' statements. Oddly enough that was the same advice given to people staging interventions. "From what I've heard they were worse in the beginning, with everything being so new."

He wanted to point out that he wasn't around much then, but that would draw attention to the fact that he was certainly around now.

Farkle nodded in the annoyingly understanding way of his.

"Is she still having the panic attacks?"

Josh turned then, keeping one eye on the two in front of him as he faced the genius. "You'd have to ask Lucas that question." Which, amazingly enough, wasn't a lie.

Over the last several months, he had only been physically present for two of Maya's 'attacks', as they had been triggered by dreams that she had sworn she couldn't remember. For reasons that he wasn't quite sure yet, Josh didn't press for more understanding of the situations. He'd held her through them, reassuring her that she was safe and that obviously whatever she had dreamed about hadn't happened, and Maya never brought them up again. He had received texts from the Texan the afternoon following each of them, giving Josh hints and tips on how to handle it if Maya showed back up at his apartment after classes, and what he should do if she didn't. There were also cryptic messages on afternoons that Maya had apparently been overwhelmed during the day and she rode those out however she had before Josh had come into the picture.

Farkle seemed to take that information in as well. Josh wondered what would happen if he asked point blank what the genius was looking to accomplish here. He didn't suppose that it would be good. "You know, we used to all joke that we were members of the Riley Committee." It was stated so simply that Josh wasn't sure what the lead up was supposed to be.

"I think it was mentioned." Quite a few times actually. It was actually the Riley Committee Charter that Maya threw herself upon whenever it was hinted that it wouldn't take much for the two of them to become public knowledge.

"She made that up herself," Farkle nodded over to where Maya was now leaning against Will as they listened to a busker. "Because a long time ago, she decided that just because she didn't get the kind of childhood that all kids deserve didn't mean she was going to take it away from someone else."

It was Josh's turn to nod. "Sounds about right."

"She has one of the greatest capacities to love I've ever seen." Josh's words from two nights ago were thrown back at him, and he had to remind himself to breathe. He took a sip of his coffee then, trying to buy himself some time to come up with an appropriate response. "She's also one of the greatest cynics I've ever met."

"No, she's not." Josh didn't shake his head, and he barely glanced over at the young man next to him. "She's a fatalist –I'll give you that one- and she's obstinate as _hell_ in her belief that Fate has nothing good in store for her." He took a quick breath, trying to stave off his usual defensive tone. "But no matter what she keeps saying, she's not the type to believe the worst in someone until it's proven." Will twirled the girl in question about in front of them. "It's probably the only piece of Riley you can actively see in her."

A smile tugged on the corner of Farkle's lips. Whatever he was searching for, he had found it in Josh's statement. "Riley says she gets it from Mr. Matthews." There was a pause. "And she does have a healthy dose of skepticism."

"Don't we all?" Josh left the question open, finally turning to Minkus. This was the part where any sane person would ask what it was that Farkle was trying to accomplish. What did the man think he knew? But that would open the floor to not only a conversation that he did have at nine at night in the middle of Rome, but it would require him to let one more person in on the secret that was him and Maya. Josh wasn't sure that he was prepared for that.

"She's just the way she is." He held his breath, waiting for the next part of that statement. Josh still wasn't aware of how he wound up in this discussion anyway. "And nobody's told her that that's okay."

Maya shrieked Farkle's name, and both men looked up. "I need a new dance partner! Will keeps stepping on my feet!"

"As my lady commands." Farkle bent at the waist, turning back to Josh one more time before moving to where the other two stood.

Josh joined them if for no other reason than to not have to shout when he caught Minkus's eye over the top of Maya's head. "Yes, we have." He returned steadily.

* * *

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

And you guys asked for it, so I obliged. **8tracks [slash] andthemomentsgone [slash] hart** for Josh's Playlist for Maya!

There's one coming for Maya as well (it will be featured in Chapter 32)

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

 _"Gorgeous!" Maya's head shot up from whatever it was she was looking at on Isadora's iPad, and Josh held up the phone. "Head's up; it's Shawn." She cupped her hands together and Josh underhand tossed his phone in the direction of the bed. When it landed cleanly, he nodded to the other two and turned back to the balcony._

 _Lucas glanced over the top of the screen. "That's like the least subtle nickname **ever**."_


	32. Interlude: She Sets the City on Fire

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,529  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

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Very Quick Author's note: My lovely beta -whom I adore dearly- has taken a few days for herself. Because I'm an impatient pain in the tail, I'm posting this without her reviewing it first. All errors are my own.

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Maya spent the next morning in the bed of Lucas Friar.

To be fair, she wasn't the only one.

And yes, Josh completely understood exactly what those two sentences sounded like when he said them aloud to Shawn when the older man called after his morning run to check in. "I made them leave the balcony door open," didn't sound too good either. But it was said while he was sitting on said balcony, the Texan and Farkle sharing a laptop at the table on his side.

"Please tell me you've made none of those statements to your brother."

Shawn was laughing on the other end, and Josh nodded to the men. "Not today," Josh promised. There was a thump and a giggle from the other room, and Josh leaned over Lucas to watch Maya reach down to pull Riley back onto the bed. "And I don't plan on it either." He amended. "Maybe Ma."

"Don't you dare!" Another laugh. "Okay kid, I've got about fifteen before the car gets here. Lemme talk to Maya so I can tell Cory and Katy I've done my job."

"Gorgeous!" Maya's head shot up from whatever it was she was looking at on Isadora's iPad, and Josh held up the phone. "Head's up; it's Shawn." She cupped her hands together and Josh underhand tossed his phone in the direction of the bed. When it landed cleanly, he nodded to the other two and turned back to the balcony.

Lucas glanced over the top of the screen. "That's like the least subtle nickname _ever_."

Josh grabbed a water bottle and dropped himself into one of the remaining chairs. "It's been around almost as long as you have," he shot back.

"So the girls are taken care of," Farkle ignored them both, tapping the screen on his phone before turning back to the laptop. "Did anyone check with Zay?"

The very first thing that had happened at breakfast that morning was Farkle announcing that he was treating everyone to dinner at the _Palazzo Petrucci_ during their day trip to Naples. It was extravagant and completely unnecessary, but for reasons passing understanding, Farkle was insistent. Unfortunately –or not, depending on which side of the door to Lucas's suite you were on- that meant that everyone needed clothing appropriate for the occasion. Josh was suddenly relieved that he had followed his mother's suggestion to pack a pair of nice slacks and a button down. All he'd needed was a sports coat, and Farkle claimed to have that taken care of.

Lucas sent off another text and laughed. "He brought a complete suit with him. Surprise, surprise."

"You can take the boy out of the frat house," Josh started. The man in question had decided he needed a nap before they tackled Vatican City later that day. Which worked out in the long run because it was unclear as to how long the girls were going to take. "Should we be worried that they haven't come up for air?"

"You volunteering to tell them to hurry up?" Lucas asked as the same time Farkle said, "Isadora knows the schedule."

Josh downed another swig of his water. "Me and all of my sensitive manly bits feel safer out here," he muttered pointedly to the Texan. And yes, it was entirely possible that he channeled his inner Austin when he said it.

"What about your 'sensitive manly bits'?" Maya propped herself on his shoulder as she set his phone on the table in front of him.

It was a shame that Maya wasn't aware of Farkle's suspicion of them. She was in the perfect position for him to sit up a little straighter, turn to his left, and brush his lips against hers. Josh chose to just glance at her through his lashes. "Any idea when we'll be able to actually leave the hotel?"

She hadn't put her contacts in yet, which only served to make Maya's side-eye more amusing for him. "You tryin' to rush us, Matthews?"

"There's not an answer I can give that won't result in you attempting to emasculate me, is there?" Maya just scrunched her nose and twitched her chin. "Then yes, yes I am."

"Retribution will be swift," she mock whispered into his ear. "And it shall come in the form of an Alice McCall and Jimmy Choo's."

He turned then, lips coming dangerously close to hers. Josh had to call on all of his strength to keep his face neutral. "You realize the only reason I recognize either of those names is because I grew up with Morgan, right?" While Maya huffed dramatically in his ear, Josh swiveled his neck so he could get a good look at Farkle. "And does your father know you're dropping at least half a grand on something that's going on her feet?"

Farkle didn't rise to the bait. "He's aware." He monotoned, flashing a quick smile at the blonde.

So it was going to be like that, was it?

"And for your information," Maya redirected, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Isadora's finishing up and then we'll be ready to get ready to leave."

Josh wondered if inquiring as to whether or not Maya was planning on going to the Vatican in an ambiguously over-sized NYU shirt and a pair of plaid sleep shorts would result in a swifter punishment. "Will one of you be making sure that Will is still alive after talking to his parents, or is that something I need to send Riley to do?"

"Riley." Lucas was quick on the draw, slamming the laptop shut and giving Maya a pointed once-over. "Farkle was going to go downstairs and make sure the driver was going to be ready and I was going to call about the car for tomorrow." To anyone else it would sound like Lucas was giving Maya a rundown of the day. To Josh, the Texan was informing Maya that once they got Riley out of the room it was safe for her to slide back into the room she'd slept in the night before and change her clothes. It had to be bothering her that she hadn't even had time to put her contacts in before Riley had descended.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan." A quick twirl –in which the entire fan of Maya's hair smacked landed on Josh's face- and the blonde was skipping back to Lucas's bed.

One quick hop and a flash of a bleach spot on the tail was all Josh needed to confirm the shirt she was wearing was his. "Is there a magic formula to getting her to wear her own damn clothes?" He asked without thinking.

Lucas finished off his drink and shook his head. "If you figure it out," he started, "Let me know. I've had to replace almost every school shirt I've ever owned."

"She let you keep your letter jacket." Farkle offered nowhere near helpfully. "And to be fair, she steals from everyone." He at least had a point there. Maya had never participated in a single extracurricular at Abigail Adams High that could possibly need to compete as a group for something, and yet the blonde seemed to own one of every single team shirt that had been printed in the four years they attended. The only person who's wardrobe seemed to be safe was Zay, but that was probably because he competed in the same sports as Lucas, and he never had a reason to remove clothing in front of the blonde.

Which was something that Josh really didn't feel like contemplating seeing as though he's pretty sure one of Farkle's Senior Mathlete shirts was in his laundry right at home.

And something told him that Lucas knew that too.

* * *

"Pistanthrophobia."

"Stop it."

"It's an actual word."

"Stop it!" Maya blindly reached out behind her, wincing when her wrist came in contact with the leather belt at Lucas's hip.

Farkle sidestepped her next swipe with a laugh, smiling over the top of her head. "The fear of trusting people due to past relationships gone bad." Isadora nodded , tapping her cell phone screen and fist-pumping the air. "Next word?"

"The next relationship phobia and someone's getting punched in the mouth. I don't care where we're standing." Maya muttered to herself.

Josh wasn't sure when, but somewhere between the group filing out of Lucas's room to prepare for the day and arriving at the Vatican to begin their first tour, Zay had discovered an app for his phone that contained obscure words and their definitions. While it wasn't a competition that he was prepared for, Zay wasted no time before quizzing everyone else. Then came the division of teams, and Isadora began keeping score. With Riley claiming Will, and Maya deciding that she wasn't playing either, Josh had somehow wound up with Lucas. Neither one of them were very good.

Zay checked his app. "Ratoon."

"Small shoot growing from the root of a plant!" Will shouted, earning more than one startled look from one of the other tourists milling about the Belvedere Courtyard.

They had just finished with their tour of the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums -and Josh would have to upload to the cloud as soon as he got back to a decent WiFi signal in order to protect the guilty- and were awaiting an official Vatican guide for their walking tour of the Vatican Gardens. They had another fifteen minutes, and this was keeping everyone entertained.

"Lamprophony."

Maya checked her watch.

"Loudness and clarity of enunciation!" Josh finally got his first point with a fist pump of his own. He only had to be faster and louder than Riley to do so.

While Lucas and Josh preened, Maya just shrugged. "There's got to be some sort of irony that you _that's_ the one you got right."

Whatever it was that Maya was going to say next was cut off by Zay's laugh. "Next word: Yarborough."

Everyone seemed to pause for a moment, Farkle closing his eyes to run through his mental dictionary while Riley frantically looked over at Will. Josh hated to admit that he was drawing a blank too. It wasn't a word that he could remember coming across before. It certainly wasn't one that he ever needed to know in his current profession.

"Please repeat the word?" Farkle glanced at Zay over the top of his sunglasses.

And it appeared as if Babineaux was having entirely too much fun with this. "Yarborough." He repeated, enunciating every single syllable. "And this ain't the spelling bee." He reminded the group. "Y'all aren't allowed to ask if I could use it in a sentence."

They may have already gotten him to do it once.

Lucas received a decent punch to the shoulder when he shouted 'context clues for the win' in the cab.

Isadora's mouth opened, and then she seemed to reconsider whether or not she was going to say what she was thinking. By some stroke of genius, they had declared that once a team guessed -correct or not- they were not allowed another guess on the same word. Unfortunately, it had disqualified everyone at one point. Will repeated the motion, eyeing Farkle with a grimace.

"Really?" Maya dropped down on the stone bench that they had wandered to, laying back on it. "No one?" After another moment of silence, she laughed. "It's a hand containing no honor cards."

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Zay tapped his finger to his nose, using his phone in his other hand to point to Maya. "Our angry fluff ball got it right!"

Riley, Will, and both geniuses all turned at the same time. "What?!"

"You were the one that insisted Grammy teach us to play Whist!" The blonde was pointing at Farkle now; her eyes wide. "And now _everyone_ gets to be shocked that I actually remembered something."

"I don't think it has to do with you." Zay's arm encompassed everyone again. Josh noticed that while all four people were facing her, they were actually scanning each other using only their eyes.

Farkle and Riley seemed to move first, both of them sliding down next to Maya on the bench -forcing her to sit up abruptly- and each grabbing an arm. "She's on my team!" They both gasped, leaning back -and pulling an arm with them- while pointing to the other. "I called her first!"

It would become funny for her later, the way Maya's eyes widened as she tried to figure out how to gesture to Lucas and Josh with hands in two separate laps. "You guys can help out at _any_ moment." She gestured to the people on either side of her. "Anytime."

Lucas shifted to regard Josh,

"I don't get to make my argument," Josh whispered over his shoulder. This was one of those times that he was grateful that sometimes the best distraction made itself.

The blonde shifted his stance. "I can't make it in the present tense." He countered.

There was a tug on the bench in front of them. Maya had to shift her thighs to keep herself from falling in Riley's lap. "She's my best friend."

Farkle tugged her to the other side. "She's my best friend too!"

"I've known her longer!" The brunette countered.

Farkle grunted. "I bought her new clothes this morning!"

The poor blonde bounced a few more times, each shout getting louder as she pin-ponged between them. Maya clenched her teeth, fully prepared to do some damage to someone to regain her faculties when Lucas stepped forward, dropping his hands to her shoulders to steady her. "I've seen her naked most recently!"

As far as distracting sentences went, that one was certainly memorable.

Especially when everyone realized that their tour guide was now standing on the other side of Isadora, watching the group with some form of estranged fascination. Josh at least had the good sense to not point out that, while it was a true statement when uttered between the three currently surrounding her, it may not have been entirely accurate.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus," Maya spat, using the moment to leverage herself off of the bench. She zeroed in on Josh immediately, slamming her palm into the middle of his breastbone before rolling her eyes. "Isn't this the kind of thing you were supposed to be here to prevent?"

He cocked his head to the size as Riley and Farkle both hopped to their feet to apologize to the poor Italian guide for their outburst. "I'd remember where you slept last night," he stepped into her, dropping his lips to her ear. "You know if you feel like calling and reporting me."

It was an empty threat. Maya knew it. Josh knew it. If Lucas had managed to overhear any of it, he knew it too. But it was an incredibly effective way for Josh to point out that allowing an argument in the Belvedere Courtyard was probably the least of his sins as a chaperone. And, all things considered, not worth the rant Cory would devote to it.

The glare she gave him told him that his point had been made.

The twinkle in her eye as she licked her lips before turning away informed him that this was yet another infraction that would require retribution.

At least he was in the right place to start praying.

* * *

Despite their rough start, the Vatican Gardens was one of the most enjoyable experiences that Josh had had with a tour so far on this trip. Their guide spoke excellent English -and the words he didn't understand from the group, someone helpfully reiterated in Italian- and as long as there was no flash, photography wasn't prohibited. Which was actually perfect, seeing as though between the lot of them they probably had more selfies than a teenybopper at a boy band concert.

He had also somehow wound up with an impressive close-up of Maya's cleavage and a decent shot of Zay's clothed rear end. But Josh wasn't about to question how either of those things wound up on his phone.

Josh chose instead to laugh as Zay dropped Maya right next to Riley on a bench on the terrace of the _Castel Sant'Angelo_. He hadn't been paying much attention after Will had stepped away from doing the same with his girlfriend, and somehow they had wound up in a human knot on the stone. It took the entirety of Farkle's speech on the importance of the large statue of the archangel Michael and the plague of 590 AD for them to right themselves.

"I'm sorry," Maya announced when she'd finally gotten to her feet. "Could you explain _all_ of that again?"

The genius rolled his eyes, moving on to the next section of the guidebook in his hands. "I'm sure you can get the notes from someone else."

"Gee, Mr. Minkus." Maya stepped up to Farkle, sliding her arm in his. "Whatever can I do to change your mind?"

Farkle swallowed audibly, glancing over at Isadora before catching Riley's eye over the top of Maya's head. The exchange didn't contain any of its usual mirth, though. He seemed more concerned that someone was going to notice that Maya had put herself between him and the rest of the group.

What Josh wouldn't give to be able to see the look in her eyes as she watched Farkle.

When no one stepped up to save the genius, Josh took a step and a half forward, dropping the hand not holding his camera to Maya's hip and applying just enough pressure to get her to step backward. "What are you doing?" He asked her with a chin to the top of her head. Unless he was mistaken, this was actually the first time since the airport that Maya had actually worn flats.

"He's thinking too much." Maya twisted in front of him, making sure that the fan of her hair blocked the view of anyone looking directly at them.

Josh flicked his eyes to Farkle. The man looked a bit tense, yes, but it was no different than he had earlier in the day. If anything, the biggest difference in him had been the fact that he seemed reluctant to be within arms reach of his girlfriend. Josh had actually tried to explain it away with the argument they had had just the other day. He knew from personal experience that sometimes it took a few days for things to go back to normal.

The muscle beneath his palm flexed, and Maya took half a step back right before Riley turned to look at them.

"It's your job to keep that from happening?" He didn't mention the position change.

Maya's top lip curved sadly. "It's my job to do a lot of things." She whispered carefully.

 _Yeah_ , Josh decided quickly. This wasn't working for him anymore. "I'm gonna borrow her." He announced to the rest of the group, wrapping an arm around Maya and gesturing to the stairs.

No one tried to stop him.

Lucas merely exchanged a look with the blonde, and Riley's brow furrowed. Josh didn't stick around to see what the Texan told his niece about why Josh may have suddenly decided to confab with Maya away from the group. Whatever it was obviously made sense, because she didn't actively question it.

Oddly enough, Maya didn't say anything as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her down the stairs. Her silence continued when he directed her down another flight of stairs and into the courtyard, making sure that there was no way that the group could see them from the terrace above. She stopped when he did, and Josh positioned them so the outer wall was at her back, reminding her that she didn't get to run from this.

"What's up?" He started.

Maya shook her eye, the bridge of her nose scrunching. "You drug me down here, Matthews." A quick shake of the head and Maya pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Shouldn't you be the one to tell me?"

"You've been tense ever since we left the hotel." He bumped her chin with his index finger when he realized that she wasn't even trying to look up at him. Josh wasn't going to bring up that he'd noticed her getting twitchy from the moment Riley had questioned her inability to argue with Farkle planning the next two days out for them. "And I don't mean a little." He bent slightly. "You've been watching _everyone_." She opened her mouth to point out theIr tour of the Vatican, and promptly closed it when Josh shook his head. "When we set down the rules for this, we included no lying," he reminded her. "That means to each other."

Her jaw flexed, and Maya glanced at the bricks beneath her feet. "Then I'm gonna need you to retract your original question." She still didn't look up at him.

"Maya-"

"I'm fine." All it took for his sentence to die was for her to cut her eyes up to his. "Josh, I'm fine. I need you to believe that." When she nodded, he did too.

It didn't stop him from noticing that the fingers she didn't have buried in her pocket twitched against her thigh, or that she was taking all of her breaths through her nose, no matter if it escaped from between her lips or not. Maya hadn't lied to him before. She could very well believe that she was fine. But none of what she was doing portrayed that particular state to him.

"I still can't answer your question." She cut him off without realizing that she was doing it.

He nodded again. "Can you at least tell me why?"

Maya's eyes dropped to their shoes again.

"Damn it, Hart." He managed from between his teeth. "Give me _something_ here."

Something clicked in her eyes. Maya took half a step back, bumping against the wall. "I thought I didn't owe you anything." She flinched when he reached for her.

"You're right." Josh took a step back, gesturing between the two of them. He had absolutely no idea where any of this animosity came from. She sure as hell hadn't given him a clue as to why she was taking it out on him simply because he'd inquired about it. "But right now this isn't working for me, and I need you to tell me why."

That was the wrong choice of words. He knew it almost as soon as they had left his mouth.

Maya squared her shoulders, placing a solid hand on Josh's chest and pushing him backward just enough for her to be able to step out of the box he seemed to pin her into. "You're right," she finally coughed. "It's not working," she managed in the same tone he did.

Josh didn't hold back his curse when she slid back up the stairway.

* * *

"What the _actual_ fuck?" The balcony doors were still open, which was something that Josh wondered if he should point out to the two in the adjacent room before they continued their discussion. He heard the door to Luca's room slam and something hit the floor before he decided that it was probably for the best he didn't.

The next thud was Maya's bag hitting the desk on the other side of the wall. "Stay out of it." She snapped back.

"Love to." Josh wished that the rooms were set up differently. Then it might have been possible for him to attempt to visually eavesdrop without getting caught. He could hear fabric rustling and considered that it may be the sound of Lucas taking off his jacket. " _Can't_." There was a quick pause. "You've successfully managed to baffle five of the closest friends you've got." He took a breath. "And _God_ knows what you picking a fight with Josh was supposed to accomplish!"

"Four." Her voice was steady and Josh wondered if she was discounting Lucas because he was the one to confront her about it. He wasn't sure who the other person could be.

If Lucas was confused by her statement, it didn't stop him. "Congratulations?" He returned. "You've been off all day."

"Not you too!" Maya shouted back, shuffling of clothing drowning out any movement.

Which vaguely reminded Josh that Maya still had possession of his leather jacket.

"Yes!" Lucas shouted back. "Me too. Because for some reason, I always draw the short straw!" The mini-fridge slammed shut. "So while everyone else is figuring out what we're doing for dinner, I'm in here with you! Now are you going to answer my original question or are we gonna shout at each other some more?"

Time stopped. Josh didn't know if there was a possibility that Maya would actually give Lucas the straight answer that she'd denied him earlier, but he certainly wanted to find out. "I can't answer the question," Maya muttered carefully.

"Can't?" Lucas's voice wasn't much louder. "Or won't?"

"Now's not the time to argue semantics."

" _Can't_ or _won't_? Lucas tried again.

Maya's voice moved closer to the balcony. "Can't." She admitted at last.

Josh dropped himself onto Maya's side of the King sized bed. He didn't need Lucas to point out the fact that Maya had always tried to be very careful with her wording. It had actually saved them a time or two when it came to discussing each other in the abstract to a few member of his family. What he didn't seem to understand was why it had been important at this particular juncture.

Slowly he started to replay the conversation they had in the courtyard of the _Castal_. Maya had given him the exact same set of answers too.

Lucas must have run his hands over his face because his voice was muffled when he finally returned with, "Is this a permanent or temporary situation?" The silence drug on for several minutes and Lucas sighed loudly. He realized around the same time Josh did that Maya apparently wasn't going to answer that question either. "why pick the fight with Josh?"

"He wouldn't leave it alone."

That couldn't have been right. Josh may not be in the room with her, and he couldn't see her face, but she didn't aim for his metaphorical jugular earlier until he'd given her the opening. She'd been perfectly content to stay stoic until he'd stepped back.

Box springs creaked on the other side of the wall, and Maya coughed too close to the door. "Yes, or no," Lucas seemed to try again. "If you had the option to tell the complete truth to me right now, would you?" Of all the tactics that Josh had thought of, this one was incredibly simple. It also sounded rehearsed. He had to ask himself if this was the first time that Lucas was resorting this tactic to in order get information from the tiny blonde.

Maya sighed heavily. "Yes."

"Is the situation something I should be worried about?" This question obviously followed the same rules as the one that came before it. Josh wondered if allowing her closed-ended responses, and the ability to hide behind them was what made them easier for Maya to handle. If it continued to work, Josh may actually have to try implementing it in his own conversations with the blonde.

Regardless of the fact that she was closest to him, her voice was softer. "No."

"You're sure about that?"

"Positive." Maya's voice was stronger now.

Lucas chuckled. When he started his next question, the dead space between his words made Josh think that this was not the question that he intended to ask. "You're pissed off at someone other than yourself right now?"

There was the sound of a bracelet on glass before Maya took a deep breath. "I don't see how that's relevant."

"'It's not working'." Lucas deadpanned, and Josh wondered how the hell he had managed to pick that up with him being several stories above them on the terrace when it was said either time.

"It wasn't." She agreed.

Lucas didn't seem surprised that it had come out of her mouth. Josh wished that he could catch a glimpse of what the younger man was seeing. "Past tense," he cautioned her. This was another case where actually listening to what Maya wasn't saying may pay off.

"That's not the conversation we're having." Josh wasn't sure he'd ever heard that tone come from Maya's mouth. He didn't know if he ever wanted it to be directed at him.

"Oh no," Lucas was gaining on her. "You started this one, Shortstack." Another deep breath and Josh could guess that Lucas was now standing with her at the over-sized windows leading to the patio. "You picked the fight that you knew you could win?"

There wasn't an answer. Or if there was, Josh couldn't hear it.

Because he hadn't thought about that.

Ever since Maya had left him in the courtyard, Josh had been wracking his brain trying to figure out what it was that he had done to trigger that kind of response in her. They had been fine that morning, She'd been tense, but at first he'd attributed it to the fact that she had more or less had to pretend that she had been staying in Lucas's room and she hadn't even been given the time to throw her armor up before she had to do it.

Yes, dress shopping had been fun, but he knew better than most that Maya had to call on a little more grace than she probably felt to allow Minkus to spend more money on her, no matter what it was that was being bought, or why.

Suddenly her slip up in the chapel -when she pulled him into the alcove and completely forgot that his phone was set to film- wasn't about impulsive frivolity. Maya had needed something. He tried not to be proud of himself that he had given it to her without her needing to explain. Then he kicked himself for not coming to the revelation sooner.

"You owe him."

Maya choked on air. "That's not how this works."

"I know how 'this' works." Was Lucas mocking her? "And I'm not telling you that you owe him an apology -which you do- or that it needs to be done right this minute -which probably wouldn't hurt- but you picked the fight because you knew he'd let you retreat, and for that, you owe him _something_."

Maya's chuckle contained no actual mirth. "And everyone else?"

Lucas seemed to ponder that, actually stepping onto the balcony. Josh watched Maya step up behind him, hand running up his back. Lucas shifted in front of her, reaching an arm behind to slide underneath the hem of her blouse to direct her into the small spot between him and the railing. "We've been close quarters for the last six days," he said, at last, dropping his lips to the back of her head. "Mr. Matthews is starting to crack down on Josh, you're getting twitchy," he laughed. "Hell Farkle's starting to get paranoid." The arm that Josh could see curved under Lucas's tensed for a moment. "Maybe we need a little less structure in order to regain some normalcy."

"You mean you have a way to talk Farkle and Riley into tossing the schedule for the night?"

If what Lucas had said was true earlier, and the rest had noticed Maya's mood, then it probably wouldn't take much. Josh wondered what it was that everyone would opt to do if left to their own devices. He considered staying in. He would have to let Maya come to him.

"I have a few ideas." Lucas dropped his chin to the top of her head. The theme from Back to the Future brought them back to the present, and Lucas reached for his phone without letting go of her. "Car's here for dinner."

Josh watched Maya struggle with herself as she turned back to Lucas's room. "Did he tell you what we're eating?"

"Nope." Lucas caught Josh's eye through the glass as he turned around himself. He didn't seem surprised ar the revelation. Then again, this was the second time he'd been caught eavesdropping on the two of them. "But I'm paying, and you're drinking, so it probably doesn't matter."

Finally, there was some joy in her tone. Maya was most likely shrugging back into Josh's jacket as she laughed. "You're gonna get me drunk and then send me back to Matthews?" Lucas's response wasn't verbal. "I don't think that's the best idea ever."

The door to the suite opened, and Josh waited until there was a knock on his own door before moving to the other end of the room. "I'm not gonna give you time to think of a worse one." The Texan smiled when Josh pulled open the door, arm around Maya's shoulder. "Quick! Dinner! Before the crazy escapes again."

* * *

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

And you guys asked for it, so I obliged. **8tracks [slash] andthemomentsgone [slash] hart** for Josh's Playlist for Maya!

There's one coming for Maya as well (it will be featured in Chapter 33)

* * *

 _Coming Soon:_

 _"Auribus tenere lupum?" He questioned loudly, catching Maya's eye in the vanity mirror on the visor. She didn't even bother to nod. "I think you just found my next tattoo."_

 _Maya reached for the tablet she'd braced on the dash, rolling her eyes. "You're adorable."_

 _"Gimmie some options," he offered. "We'll talk about it."_


	33. Interlude: Agape

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 8,316  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Quick Author's note: My Beta is back! My Beta is back! And you guys can thank El for this one. Without her you guys may not have gotten this until next week!

* * *

If he's asked -and he's not, there's only one other person who's actually aware of it anyway- Josh understands the irony that comes with him waking up alone the next morning.

He managed a few hours of sleep on and off during the night. He used the rest of the time for his thesis presentation prep after he emailed his final chapter to his advisor. Topanga had finished looking over his employment contract, noting that it was encouragingly specific and that she saw no problem with him accepting it as is. Josh set himself a reminder to sign it when he got home Sunday night.

Lucas had been able to call for suspension of the schedule for the evening.

He hadn't even bothered to be subtle about it. Josh was at least thankful that he'd waited for Maya to go with Isadora to the bathroom before turning to the remaining genius and announcing that Maya needed a breather and would not be going on whatever group outing that they had planned for the night. Immediately Riley had attempted to abandon Will and their plan to find a place to go dancing. Zay had even offered to stay back at the hotel and keep her company while everyone else went about their evening.

In the end, Maya and Lucas had disappeared after dinner, skipping out on dancing and drinks and slipping back into the Texan's room a little after one in the morning. Josh had made the remaining five promise to keep their stupid under control -and Zay off of social media- and holed himself up in his room in order to distract himself from the fact that he was most likely going to bed alone.

"You look like shit, man."

Josh had almost forgotten that since they had the only two rooms on this floor, Farkle had gotten them an adjoining balcony. Okay, so maybe forgotten was too strong of a word. Josh didn't turn from the railing as he heard Lucas shut the door leading to his suite, moving up to set a coffee mug on the stone in front of him. "Thank God you're going to be a vet." He didn't mean to sound sardonic. Or maybe he did. Lucas didn't seem to mind. "I don't think there's a college in the world that offers classes in tact."

"I ordered you coffee." Lucas countered, pointing to the untouched mug with his half full one. "That should at least earn me a little honesty."

"Does that work for everyone?" He jerked his head in the direction of the door Lucas had just come through.

The blonde scoffed. "I get to be honest with Maya all the damn time." He announced, taking a swig of the steaming drink

"I'm pretty sure if you told her she looked like shit, she'd throw you off the balcony." Josh shrugged, sparing a look to the street five floors below them.

"I'm not testing that theory." Lucas followed his motion, before taking another step back. "However if she said it, and I agreed..."

Josh took a taste of the coffee, shaking his head. "You'd still die painfully."

"Probably."

They were quiet for a few minutes, both looking out at the city in the early morning haze. Josh realized that things could be more difficult for him. He liked Lucas. Even before the dynamic change, they got along. And yeah, ever since Josh started seeing Maya things had gotten a bit more complicated between the two of them, but it was mostly circumstantial. Fundamentally their dynamic was the same.

"How is she?" It wasn't what Josh had planned on saying next. He's pretty sure that he wasn't planning on asking that question at all.

Lucas seemed to understand the conflict. "Exhausted," he offered without looking up. "Frustrated," Josh had to laugh at that one. "She's pissed at herself for reacting the way she did, but she's clinging to too much pride to admit that there might have been a better way to handle it." Josh snorted, and neither was sure which part of that statement he found funny. "Worst case scenario she wakes up this morning and turns it inward."

Neither one of them were a fan of that option. Not only would that mean that they were a divided group again, and this time they were going to have to spend at least 2 hours in close quarters in order to go to Naples -and then another half an hour or so from Naples to Pompeii- which would most definitely not be fun. Maya would still act with the other, so while the tension would probably be unbearable, it at least wouldn't affect everyone. There was a small part of Josh that was at least happy that they had chosen to rent a car for the day instead of having a driver.

The door behind them opened, and Josh lost the battle with himself not to glance over his shoulder at the intruder.

Maya's hair was mussed in a way that she only seemed to allow sleep to do. If he didn't already know that she hadn't made an attempt to get some of her stuff from their room the night before, her swimming in one of Lucas's well-worn t-shirts would have tipped him off. She wasn't wearing pants either. Maya couldn't stand to have anything that could restrict her movement when she slept, and anything Lucas may have had to loan her would have been too long in the leg and wide in the hip to fit comfortably. With her own cup of coffee clutched in her hands and sleep hooded eyes, she at least looked no worse for wear.

"Next time you get up before I do," Maya glared at Lucas over the rim of the mug, "If you don't turn your alarm off, you're going to have to replace your phone."

Lucas didn't look the least bit regretful of his oversight. He didn't quite hide his smirk as he shrugged. "Sorry."

Blue eyes rolled as Maya inhaled her coffee. "I'm also pretty sure that Smackle's getting breakfast in bed this morning."

"It's her birthday." Josh marveled at how Lucas didn't even bother to rise to the bait. "I'm pretty sure she's getting more than breakfast in bed."

Her entire face contorted, and Maya groaned. "Thank you for such a wholesome mental picture." She snapped back. Then she seemed to realize that Josh was still standing there. She took a deep breath and braced herself for a smile. "Morning."

Josh saluted her with his own mug. "Hey."

"I'm getting in the shower," Lucas announced quickly. "You've got about an hour until we leave." He bopped Maya on the nose with his thumb and nodded to Josh. "And in case you didn't notice -because, ya know, I didn't leave it right next to your coffee- there's a fruit and toast plate for you on the desk."

"My hero." Maya deadpanned, shoving him in the direction of the door.

Another quick nod and Lucas made a show out of closing the balcony door.

"I didn't sleep with him." As far as first sentences went, that was most likely the most awkward thing that could have come out of Maya's mouth. She didn't try to backtrack, though, catching his eyes and leaning against the railing. "I mean, I did." She said after a moment, blue eyes twinkling. "But that's just because Huckleberry's, like, six one, and I was enough of a bitch yesterday to add to it by forcing him to sleep on that god awful couch."

An admission of guilt was definitely a good sign. Josh at least got to hope that this would mean that he would actually be able to relax today.

Apparently, he had missed Maya's next statement. When he realized that she was expecting an answer, he had no idea what the question had been. He didn't miss the way her smile faded, or how the hand no longer holding the mug twitched against the rail as if she was trying to keep it where it was.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" it hadn't been her original question, but she glanced up at him as if it didn't matter.

As much as Josh wanted to lie to her, to pretend that he hadn't been bothered at all by the events of yesterday, he knew that it wasn't the start to this one that they needed. "On and off." He admitted carefully. "But hey, my inbox is officially clean, and I don't think I'll have to touch my books until Monday." Josh gave her a half smile. "So there is an upside."

"I think Luke was planning on manning the wheel to Naples." She returned the smile with a barely there one of her own. "So you can relax in the van."

With all of their talk about Naples and Pompeii over the last few days, it actually hadn't occurred to Josh how they were going to get there if Farkle didn't hire a driver. Of the eight of them, there were only four who actually had driver's licenses. Josh had been born and raised in Philadelphia, where mass transit was abundant, but for the most part, illogical. While he would be able to get around the city itself, the Matthews' home was in the suburbs, so learning to operate a motor vehicle had been a necessity. Lucas and Zay were both country boys. There had been more than one joke about them racing four wheelers and Lucas 'driving Pappy Joe's truck before he could see over the wheel'. He honestly had no idea how or why Will had learned, him being native to New York like the others were. At least Farkle was trying to learn, taking drivers ed in California between classes. Maya had flat out refused. She'd decided long ago that she wasn't living anywhere but the city, and owning a car on the island of Manhattan was both impractical and unnecessary. Cory had planned to take Riley out to Philly after she graduated to give her a crash course -pun not intended- so she would be prepared for wherever life took her.

Since no one in their right mind would put Zay behind the wheel first thing in the morning, Josh supposed that it was a good thing that Lucas had thought so far ahead.

"And you stopped listening to me again." Maya chuckled, stealing his empty mug from him and turning to the door that led to Josh's suite. "Come on, Matthews," the door opened with a light touch, and Maya gestured inside. "Let's wake you up."

He followed, because what else was he supposed to do when a half-dressed woman was wandering into his room, laughing when she set the mugs down on a side table and reached for her shirt. "I don't think we have time for that."

" _I_ was suggesting you get a shower while I get dressed and call for more coffee." He didn't know how it was possible for her tone to sound both reprimanding and playful. "But now that we know where your mind is..." Fingers clutched the end of Lucas's shirt, and she was naked from the waist up in one fluid motion.

"I asked for that," Josh bit down on the inside of his lip as they locked eyes. "Didn't I?"

Maya's head cocked to the side, her hair falling over her shoulder. "You most certainly did." There were five steps between the two of them. She crossed them almost instantly. "But before I let you become a slave to your hormones," half-naked in front of him, and Maya was quoting his brother. Josh wasn't sure if he could handle it this morning. "I wanted to say that I'm aware that I overreacted yesterday. I picked a fight to get out of a conversation I didn't want to be in, and it wasn't fair to you." He couldn't hide his smile. He tried really hard. "What?"

"That was probably more satisfying than what is about to happen is going to be." He reached for her because he had to do something. And when Maya caught his meaning, she tried to pull away. But once Josh got a hold of her hip, there was no way he was letting her go. He pivoted slightly to the left, pulling her flush against him, hands sliding down to her thighs, as he stepped to the bed.

She was flat on her back, Josh settling between her knees before she could release her next breath. Josh dipped to run his tongue over her scapula, nipping her clavicle. "Just for that, you're not getting the rest of your apology." If her aim was for stern, Maya failed miserably.

"I don't need it." He told her gently. "But thank you anyway."

* * *

They were late getting downstairs.

It was inevitable and probably more than a little comical. Josh was only a little relieved that they weren't the only ones. Lucas hadn't waited for them, but they managed to pick up Zay in the elevator on their way to the lobby. He noted their goofy grins, grunted something about how he was happy that Lucas had managed to subdue the fluff ball, and went back to his phone. He did allow Maya to exit the elevator first, though, gesturing to the doors with his garment bag before popping her on the butt with it.

"Finally!" Lucas gestured to the rear lift-gate with his bottle of water.

"It's her fault." Josh pointed at Maya as she passed him to wrap both arms around Isadora squealing 'Happy Birthday'. "This is what happens when I promise to wait for her."

Lucas gave Josh's wet hair and stupid smile a once-over before glancing over to where Maya, Riley, and Isadora were huddled together. An eyebrow pointed in the direction of Maya's equally wet hair -pulled back into a tasteful French braid- told Josh that if not for time constraints, Lucas would most definitely be calling bullshit. "Your bag goes in the trunk." He said instead, flipping the keys around his finger. "Yo, Shortstack?" Maya giggled at something that Riley said and Lucas pointed to the van "I negotiated the front seat for you." Lucas flicked his eyes to Farkle, and the younger man nodded once. "You can sleep while I drive."

Her shoulders dropped for a split second before she whirled on the rest of the group. Her hand came dangerously close to smacking Josh in the face when it popped up. "If you start singing, I swear to God I'll kill you in your sleep."

"I never was a big Melissa Etheridge fan, so I think you're safe." Josh kissed her knuckles before physically lowering her hand for her.

Zay broke the moment, slamming himself into Farkle and wrenching open the door "Backseat!"

The genius took it in his stride, holding his hand out to his girlfriend and allowing her to pick her seat next. Isadora laughed, climbing into the very back next to Zay and dropping her purse onto the floor. Farkle didn't hesitate to climb in after her.

"Window or door?"

Will was behind Josh now, Riley curled into his shoulder as Maya popped open the passenger front door. It was almost comical how they both automatically assumed that Riley would be taking the middle, to make it easier for her to lean forward and carry on a conversation with the blonde.

"Door," Josh gestured to the van and Will braced himself on the back of Maya's seat so he could scoot over to the far side. Riley followed suit, handing her ridiculously large bag off to Will so he could slide it between his feet and the driver's seat. Once they were both settled, and Josh was in his seat, he gave the van a quick glance before pulling the door shut beside him.

Lucas hadn't even put the vehicle into drive before Zay piped up from the backseat. "I gotta go potty!" He shouted in falsetto.

"Riley's looking at me!" Will joined in, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend and laughing into her hair.

The brunette took his hand in hers and giggled. "Will's touching me!"

"Well, Farkle's breathing my air!" Isadora sounded so matter of fact that what small laugh Lucas had stifled had broken. He planted one foot firmly on the break, leaning his forehead into the steering wheel as he tried to regain his composure.

It took a full minute for him to be able to sit upright again, tossing a look at the passenger seat. "You don't want in on this?" He asked Maya curiously.

"Only child." She reminded him with a twitch of her nose. "I don't know what these weirdos are carrying on about."

"Are we done?" Lucas sounded like the exasperated suburban father they seemed to have elected him to be as he pulled his phone from the cup holder and tossed it at the blonde. "Then maestro, some road tunes please?"

The group seemed to settle back into traveling rhythm easily. The only real difference was that Zay remained fully conscious for the trip. Farkle even gave up his tablet and phone in favor of interacting with the group. Maya commanded the radio -everyone got a veto, she wasn't a cruel master after all- making sure that the entertainment was steady, if not distracting. Josh was actually pretty sure that this was a brilliant return to the group that they originally had planned to be.

"Hey, Matthews!"

While incredibly poor warning, it was all that Josh got before Maya's phone landed in his lap. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He inquired over the sound of Zay and Lucas arguing over which baseball team had the best opening line up.

Maya sighed. "Your headphone jack goes in the little hole," she told him slowly. She was staring out the front window as she pantomimed the actions. "You put the buds in your ears and press play."

"And to think I'm only a year away from a Master's degree." He said to no one in particular. Riley laughed, though, so he could at least pretend he had meant for that to come out of his mouth. He followed her directions –more because there was no other way for him to listen- and then he glanced down at the screen. "There is no 'play'." He held up the lock screen where Riley and Maya were holding hands as they ran away from the camera across the Ponte Sant'Angelo.

Lucas didn't pause in his sentence, sliding one hand behind his seat to thumb the screen before slipping his thumb onto the home button. When Riley squeaked, Maya shifted nervously in her seat. "All yours," Lucas managed when his hand was back on the wheel. "And his batting average is shit, Babineaux! They should have traded him long before now."

He would analyze the implication of Lucas's thumbprint being recognized by Maya's Touch ID at a later date –or he could just leave Riley to it, after all, it looked like she hadn't been aware either- Josh was now staring at a playlist that had been saved to her music app. He didn't recognize the title of the list, which was his first hint that it was something that wasn't sanctioned by the Riley/Maya code, and the cover photo looked suspiciously like the piece of art that he had gotten her a few days before.

He tapped 'play' without investigating the list further, flipping his phone out from under his thigh and opening the search engine. It didn't take long for him to discover it was Latin. The rough translation meant 'I hold a wolf by the ears'. As The Cab played, Josh scrolled through another site that brought him to the meaning of Ancient Roman Proverbs. Apparently, the full translation of the phrase was meant to read: 'I am in a dangerous situation and I dare not let go'.

" _Auribus tenere lupum_?" He questioned loudly, catching Maya's eye in the vanity mirror on the visor. She didn't even bother to nod. "I think you just found my next tattoo."

Maya reached for the sketch pad she'd braced on the dash, rolling her eyes. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Gimmie some options," he offered. "We'll talk about it."

He completely missed what her response was, along with whatever it was that Riley had decided to chime in with when Imagine Dragons picked up in his ears. This was not the 'Uncle Boing' mix. That mix was filled with peppy boy bands and ridiculous interpretations of love that Josh had ever heard. 'Shots' did not belong anywhere near that mix. Then again, Josh got the sinking suspicion that that mix had been the culmination of sugar highs and too many drinks and jokes that wouldn't die. It was meant for girls to bounce around the room singing into their hairbrushes while they gossiped about boys.

With one eye on Riley, Josh popped one of his earbuds out and leaned back against the armrest as the music transitioned to Hailee Steinfeld. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fully immerse himself in the playlist while they were all enclosed in the vehicle like that. The last thing he needed was his niece wondering what had been passed between the two of them.

"Everything okay?" Riley was full on looking at him now, handing Maya's lip gloss back to Isadora.

"Everything's great." Tapping the forward button, the music changed again, and Josh wasn't as concerned with the significance of the Veronica's track. Riley's eyes dropped to the phone in his hand and he schooled the disinterested expression back onto his face. "Maya was telling me about this 80s cover band she found, and I'd never heard of them."

It seemed to be enough for Riley, who leaned forward again with a shrug. Josh refused to meet Lucas's stare in the rear view; yes, it confirmed that the younger man knew exactly what it was that Maya had handed him, but he couldn't find it in him to meet judgment with judgment.

His phone vibrated in his lap, and Josh thumbed it open, sighing when he realized that while he was holding Maya's, the tiny blonde in front of him had full control of Friars device.

 **You just lied to Riley.**

* * *

Whatever moral high ground Maya staked out hadn't been fortified.

 _At least_ , Josh's mind corrected _, not yet_. She seemed perfectly content to point out the fact that she noticed, and then leave it at that. Then again, she may have just been biding her time.

They stopped for lunch in _Torre Annunziata_ , at a cute little roadside place just off of the highway. Other than Farkle insisting that they go ahead and grab water bottles for the trip and an extremely hushed conversation between Riley and Maya in Italian, Josh couldn't find anything incredibly remarkable about it.

Maya had reclaimed her phone, though, after Josh had taken a screenshot of her playlist and messaged it to himself to peruse later. It didn't seem to be in any sort order, but the Nick Jonas at the very bottom gave him pause.

While almost everyone wanted to go ahead and climb Mount Vesuvius and get it over with, Farkle –and surprisingly enough Maya- argued that it was at the very least a thirty-minute hike up, and once they went up and back they weren't going to want to explore the rest of Pompeii afterward. It also proved easier than they thought it would be to pick up a small tour of the Forum and Grain Stores. What didn't surprise Josh was that Maya had taken one look at the plaster casts of the victims of the volcano eruptions and decided that she was going to wait for everyone at their next stop. Josh had to physically stop himself from following her to the Casa di Pansa, smiling encouragingly when Riley let go of Will's hand to do it herself.

The girls were inseparable for the rest of their trip through the devastated city. Josh was pretty sure that had they not had to make the hike, the girls would still be attached at the hand.

"I'm gonna need a shower before we get all dolled up for dinner." Zay glanced over to where Farkle was attempting to get Maya to keep her hands out of his pockets. When no one responded, Zay huffed, stomping ahead of the group. "A serious shower!"

"We're _all_ gonna need a shower, Babineaux." Maya stopped her relentless pursuit of –whatever it was that she was going for- and reached for the water bottle in Josh's hand. Lucas had a pack full of them, but she didn't seem to care. "You're not special."

Zay threw his arm around Lucas's shoulder, pulling his best friend into his armpit. "True," it took twice as much force to get him to actually let go. Lucas went so far as to firmly place his fist on the boy's side. "But he may get first priority."

When the older boy reached for Riley, she sidestepped, pushing Will between them.

"Guys." Farkle wasn't paying them a bit of attention. He had one arm around Isadora, his other fiddling with his pocket. When the teasing didn't stop, he took another breath. " _Guys_!"

Everyone froze.

Farkle reached for Maya's hand then, pulling her up next to him to stand by the railing. "Just look."

They had been in some pretty remarkable locations in the last week. Josh had been able to say that he had gazed out to the vastness of the Adriatic from the Grand Canals of Venice. He'd taken photos from the top of the Coliseum and roamed the underground where gladiators survived. He'd stood on the steps of the Vatican, and then been tempted to dance on the edge of the Trevi Fountain. But there was something about standing with his back to the crater of an active super volcano, staring out at the vastness of the countryside of _Campania_ , Josh realized that his trip was about far more than just running away from the city on Spring Break.

He didn't notice Will pull Riley into his chest, hugging her from behind. He didn't pay attention to Zay fumbling with the phone in his hand for a solid minute before giving up and just staring out at the bay. The second he felt Maya's hand in his, he went for it, pulling her closer to him and slinging the arm furthest away from everyone else low on her hip, his thumb sliding beneath the fabric of her capris to skid across the lettering on her hip.

If she would have let him, he would have kissed her then. Josh didn't care who was around or what they would think. This was the kind of view that made someone literally throw caution to the wind.

Maya could probably tell what he was thinking. It was the only explanation that Josh had for the way that she took half a step to her left –taking him with her- and running her hand down his arm. She didn't try to dislodge his fingers, choosing instead to lace her fingers through his remaining and lean into his side, her other arm coming up to anchor at his elbow.

There wasn't an accurate measurement of time for how long they stood there. No one spoke. There was no fidgeting. Time simply stopped.

Then Farkle coughed, shaking off Lucas's offer for water, and Maya's smile grew sad. "Hey Josh," she slid her hand up and down his arm a few times before finally releasing him, turning to thumb his camera strap. "Would you mind if I borrowed this?"

He lifted the strap from his neck without thinking twice.

It wasn't until he noticed Maya give the genius what could only be described as a reassuring smile that Josh started to question the turn of events. Farkle's hand was still in his pocket, and his wrist twisted as if to shift something between his fingers.

The hike must have been harder on him than he thought it was. Or maybe Josh hadn't gotten enough sleep. It was the only explanation that he had for why two other people realized what was going on before he did. And why when someone croaked out a 'holy shit' to his left, he snapped to correct Zay's language without realizing that it had been Lucas.

"Isadora."

Farkle was careful now, as he turned fully to his girlfriend. The diminutive brunette quirked her chin, taking in the group as a whole before her eyes settled on the man in front of her. It was rare, now that Josh had spent so much time with her, that he could see he actively processing a situation, looking for her next opening. Her brain was in overdrive now.

"Farkle."

Another swish and Josh caught a quick glimpse of pink in the genius's hand. "I know that you stated that we were to treat your birthday as if it were any other day." Isadora nodded slowly, as if she could hear his words, but not quite make out the meaning. "And I understand that I had promised to capitulate to your wish." Another nod, this one curt. "But then I realized where we would be on your day, and who we would be with, and I recognized that I may never get another chance like this one."

Immediately to his left, over Maya's head, Will's eyes widened. "What the hell is he doing?"

"There will come a time in our lives when we become infatuated with a single soul." The younger man began, eyes closed. "For this person, we'd do anything and not think twice about it." Farkle sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, brain groping for his next words. He was quoting Cory. It was odd that that was the one thing that Josh noticed. Or maybe he was quoting Cory quoting someone. All Josh knew was that he had definitely heard this before. "And we'll try," Farkle forced a breath in through his nose and out from his mouth, desperately trying to just get the words out. "We'll try our whole lives to understand how a single person can affect us as much as they do." He swallowed, and from the other side of Josh, Maya raised the camera to her eye. "And no matter how much it hurts, or how badly we hate it, we know we're going to love this person –without regret- for the rest of our life."

The flash of pink was back and Josh realized too late that it was the pale pink of a Kirk Kara ring box. "You did not come into my life peacefully. You stormed in and made me question everything, altered my reality completely. There is an actual delineation marking a before and an after you in my life." Riley's breath caught in her throat. Isadora's eyes widened. Lucas cursed again. "I have found someone that I violently despise saying goodbye to, no matter the interval that we are apart. I have found someone that I physically, emotionally, literally cannot get enough of. You bring out the best in me." Farkle stumbled physically, his eyes searching the group before coming back to Isadora's. "And I don't mean as in better manners, or a sense of maturity, or whatever extemporaneous expectations that this world has placed on me as a young adult." Zay stuttered a laugh and Riley almost killed him with her glare. "I mean you make me want to drop my inhibitions and act inappropriately." Someone sniffled, and Farkle just kept going. "I want to take risks, and pursue my dreams with passion and integrity." As if a switch flicked somewhere, Farkle actually dropped to one knee. "And I want to do it all with you, Isadora Cicelle Smackle." The ring box was opened, and Riley started crying. "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

It wasn't expected. It wasn't written in a script somewhere. And because this wasn't a scene in some movie, Isadora's knees gave out and she wound up in a heap in the dirt in front of Farkle. And she must have said 'yes', even if her mouth didn't move and no sound came from it because the next thing Josh knew Farkle had pulled her to him and they were kissing. On the ground. On top of an active supervolcano.

Josh had to admit, as far as proposals went, this one wasn't lacking.

She waited as long as physically possible. Everyone seemed to be aware of that. Then Riley couldn't hold it in any longer, bouncing up and down in the dirt, squeal edging to the surface. Will managed to keep a hold of her too, only letting go when Farkle glanced up from the woman in his arms and nodded once.

It was like the dam broke. Riley wrapped her arms around Isadora, dropping to the ground with the two. Will was pulled down next to her, Lucas having to step over them in order to clap Farkle on the shoulder. He remained on his feet, even after Zay seemed to take a flying leap into the group.

And to Josh's right, Maya was smiling.

It wasn't blinding, not like he might have actually expected it to be. The blonde regarded the tumble of bodies in front of her with a careful eye. She was still holding the camera, although he was pretty sure she was no longer paying attention to what she was shooting. And behind the joy, Josh found a hint of a knowing smirk.

He held onto that as he stepped forward, wrapping his hand around her hip and pulling her back a step so her back rested against his chest. It also hadn't escaped his notice that unlike Riley, Maya had yet to ask to see Isadora's ring.

"You knew," he accused lightly, bringing his other hand up to thread it through the hair at the nape of her neck. She leaned into his touch without turning to look at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

With an eye on the rest of them, Josh dropped a kiss to the back of her head, the hand on her hip coming up to claim his camera. "Go on." He gave her a nudge, the camera sliding easily into his palm. "I'll man the camera."

He didn't expect her to turn to him. And the simple act of Maya popping up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek almost brought Josh down to the ground with the rest of them. Josh bit down hard on his bottom lip and nodded to the group, watching Maya take a quick second to line up trajectory before launching herself at the group.

There had been two magnums of champagne stashed in the canvas and leather weekender that had seemed to come out of nowhere with Maya's initials on it. Josh vaguely noted that there was actually one for each of the girls –because apparently, they required more than hotel soap to clean themselves after the hike up and back down the volcano- stacked on top of each other in the trunk of the van. So after bribing a few tourists to take some group photos of all eight of them, Farkle continued to celebrate the occasion by pouring Rosé Cristal into paper cups for everyone to enjoy.

Josh managed a sip and a half of his before he poured the remaining into Maya's empty cup, holding his hands out to Lucas for the keys. "One of us has to pretend to be responsible."

"I still call shotgun!" Maya pumped one fist into the air before taking another delicate sip. When Josh cut his eyes to her, she smiled. "Riley's gonna wanna gush, which means Smackle, and Riley are gonna wind up in the middle seat." She informed him carefully. "And that means I can turn to join in without being between Riley's limbs and Smackle's ring, and Farkle can sit with them."

He had to give her credit, Maya's logic actually made sense.

"There's also the fact that if you're driving, I'm getting wedged into the back seat with some combination of those three," she hooked her thumb in the direction of Will, Lucas, and Zay, "and _nobody_ really needs that to happen."

Behind her, Lucas was nodding emphatically.

"Any opposed?" Josh turned in almost a complete circle to survey the group. Only Zay raised his hand. "Motion passed."

"Did _no one_ see my hand?" Zay huffed, pulling open the door and sliding into his previous seat. "I'd get my way too if I was a pretty blonde." Lucas tossed his cup into the bag that Farkle had designated for trash and followed suit.

"I have one request." Josh had popped the passenger side door open and held it while Maya slipped in.

Maya kinked her eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"Plug your own phone in." Their eyes met and the hand Maya was using to slip her tennis shoes off froze. "I want to hear what's on the rest of that list."

"I don't think it's the right kind of music for this mood," her head jerked in the direction of Riley and Smackle behind her, the former still squealing over the ring.

Josh nodded slowly, as if to agree with her, and then he smiled. "They're gonna talk over it anyway." His fingers skimmed her calf before he reached across her to drop his phone in the cup holder. "Please?"

The door beside him slid shut, and Maya's hand brushed his belt. "Just because you said please."

"You're not at all influenced by recent events?"

"Something important happened today?" She asked with her head cocked to the side. Josh gave her knee a tap before stepping back and closing her door for her. Maya had the vehicle started and her phone connected to the auxiliary jack before he could get his seat belt buckled.

* * *

"You boys decent?"

Farkle had scheduled a few rooms at one of the hotel chains in Naples in order for the group to shower and dress for dinner. The girls had clung together –or rather Riley had commandeered Smackle and Maya had gone along for the ride- and the boys had split. Josh hadn't thought anything of the door to the adjoining room when Lucas had first mentioned unlocking it, but once the the handle jiggled, he wondered if he shouldn't have paid more attention.

Josh had offered Lucas the first shower when they'd gotten into the room out of courtesy. And while the Texan was already fully dressed and working on his shoes, Josh still hadn't managed to get his shirt off the hanger yet.

Whatever Lucas had been about to say was smothered in some sort of a cough. "That's a matter of opinion," Josh called out from the bathroom.

"I was sent over to ask if you guys needed anything."

Lucas's foot hit the floor with a thud and the Texan laughed. "Really?"

"No." There was the gentle clack of heels on the carpet as Josh reached for his shirt. "Smackle's doing her hair and Riley just started up on wedding plans." From her voice, Josh could tell Maya was most likely on the other end of the very short hallway. "I thought it best to jump ship before she short circuits and goes after someone with the curling iron."

"Is that something we should _actually_ be worried about?" He'd meant to slip past Maya, to walk to the dresser where he'd left his watch and the necklace that held his Saint Michael and Saint Christopher medallions to finish getting dressed before finally turning to address her.

And then he caught a glimpse of cherry red crystal-embellished stilettos out of the corner of his eye and froze.

 _Retribution will be swift_. Maya had promised him the morning before, hanging on his shoulder on a balcony above Rome, with the events of the rest of the day, Josh had seemed to forget that discussion.

She most certainly hadn't been lying.

Her attire for the evening was actually less complex than he had originally thought it would be. When Josh turned to face her properly she was braced by one hip against the desk on the wall shared with the bathroom, arms crossed against her chest. She'd gone with a simple midnight blue Alice McCall romper with very thin shoulder straps and off the shoulder capped sleeves and a wide belt at her waist. Her hair was pulled back with a simple waterfall braid, tapering off into a plethora of curls that went wild down her back. At first glance, Josh had thought that her Jimmy Choo's had been the only pop of color that Maya was wearing. Then he noticed the red leather wrap bracelet resting against the star cuff that he had gotten her for Christmas and the same vibrant color of her lips.

Somewhere in the room, Lucas coughed again.

"I take it you're not going to be embarrassed to be seen in public with me?" Maya shifted her hips, kicking one foot out in front of her so she could study the toe.

Josh was still stuck trying to remember what words were.

"Oh, I am." Lucas finished tying his other shoe and pulling himself to his feet. "But it's not going to have anything to do with the way you're dressed."

"You don't look horrible yourself, Bucky." Maya took a few steps forward, readjusting his vest and pushing one of the buttons the rest of the way through the hole. "Did you want some help rolling your cuffs?"

Josh didn't see Lucas's head shake, but he caught the grin when the younger man's shoulders shifted. "But you might want to see to Matthews. I think he's forgotten basic motor function." Josh came back to himself. Or rather he suddenly realized that he was standing in the middle of the hotel room in dress pants with an unbuttoned dress shirt hanging off his shoulders.

"Do me a favor, Luke?" Maya kept her eyes on Josh's even as she addressed her friend.

"I'm gonna go see if Smackle's killed Riley yet." The Texan announced, already halfway to the door.

Josh at least waited until the door clicked shut to step forward. "I totally renounce any comment I made about designer clothing yesterday."

Maya's smile only grew. "I knew you'd see it my way."

Shirt still open, the cocky smile plastered onto his face, Josh reached for her.

"No." Her tone was far more firm than her eyes suggested that it should be. "We definitely do not have that kind of time." Maya had yet to actually start retreating. "Do you know how long this look took?"

Josh knew next to nothing about makeup. He was a straight male in his early twenties. He was only required to know as much as any guy who had ever had a lover spend the night was required to know. However, he had the benefit that his most recent lover was the woman currently standing in front of him. He'd been privy to her beauty regimen many, many times before this moment. And as complicated as the dramatic metallic smoky eye and delicate sultry smile she was sporting appeared, he knew the look could be achieved in the right light in the back of a cab on the way across town.

"Fifteen minutes," he answered honestly. Okay, so the hair probably took a little longer, but Maya had been gesturing to her face. "You could have to redo your entire face and still be done before Riley's finished her hair."

"We're not going to test that theory." His hands found her hips, pulling her to towards him. Josh watched her face carefully. The first sign of actual seriousness and he would back off. But Maya shifted in his touch, rotating her hips in his palms. It only took the gentle pressure of his fingertips to get her to jump when he pulled her forward again, taking the half step further he needed to deposit her on top of the long dresser. "Joshua-"

He cut off her next word with his lips to her throat. "You smell incredible."

"Is there a way to turn you off?" It sounded less convincing breathless and squirming.

Josh pulled back in order to pretend to ponder it. Her hand idly skimmed his indentations between the muscles of his chest. "I don't think it's me." He decided after a moment, stepping back between her thighs. "Because, you see, I didn't go into the shower feeling like this." Using his knees on the dresser for leverage, Josh pulled Maya closer to him. "And I didn't come _out_ of the shower feeling like this." His breath tickled her ear as he nipped the sensitive skin below it. Maya squirmed in his arms, pushing herself further up against him.

She stifled a moan by sinking her teeth into her lower lip and then forced a grin. "Well if you had, you'd most likely be explaining a few things to Lucas right now."

He opened his mouth to rebuke her, but his next words were drowned out by a knock.

"Uncle Josh!"

Maya's eyes went wide as Josh took two steps back. She immediately crossed her legs at the ankle, flipping her hair over the side of the neck where his lips had been, and leaning back against the mirror as if she had deliberately put herself in that position. There wasn't much he could do, other than pull the ends of his shirt together and swallow whatever it was in the forefront of his mind so he could concentrate on forcing the buttons through their holes. "Yup!"

Riley stuck her head in the crack of the door. Josh wasn't sure if he should classify her look as hopeful, cautious, or concerned. "Farkle wants to know if you're okay with driving to the restaurant."

Maya barked out a laugh, and Josh shook it off, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Tell him it'll be fine." He decided. "It'll make it easier to get right back on the road when we're done." The smile his niece gave him was almost blinding, and he hadn't realized until the door was shut that Maya was still laughing at him. "What?"

She slid off the dresser, righting the shorts on her romper before skipping forward on too steady feet. "I just can't believe you dress yourself on a daily basis." Her hands batted his away, and Josh failed in an attempt not to blush when he realized that he had managed to incorrectly button half of his shirt.

" _God,_ I hope Riley didn't see that," he muttered almost to himself.

"If she did, I doubt she understood what she was looking at." Her fingers skimmed his collarbone, and Josh realized that the blonde had managed to completely button his shirt. "Her brain doesn't work the same way ours do."

Josh took a step forward, his lips coming down to brush Maya's without thought. "Speaking of," he decided. Maya just raised an eyebrow. "I don't give a damn what girly shit Riley thinks she has planned for when we get back to Rome." One hand trailed up Maya's ribcage as he walked her another two steps back. When her tailbone hit the dresser, he shifted to grab his chain off of the smooth surface. "I let you have last night because I didn't know what to do with you." He swiped his lips over hers again before dropping the chain over his head. "You're sleeping nowhere but our room tonight."

Their eyes locked, and Maya's mouth parted in a soundless gasp. Oh, what he wouldn't give for the ability to read her mind right then and there. While she telegraphed every emotion in the spectrum for another solid minute, Josh busied himself by snapping his watch into place and tucking in his shirt.

"And for the record," the backs of his fingers grazed her cheek, physically shutting her mouth. "You could have told me that you were aiding and abetting a proposal."

She seemed to concentrate better on that sentence. "It wasn't my secret to share." She pulled his index finger between her teeth when he tapped it against her lips.

"Probably not," he agreed. "But it would have made last night a hell of a lot easier for me."

"I am sorry." She never got the chance to say it earlier, and if Josh had his way, she wouldn't be saying it now. She'd gotten over her irritation, and he had long since passed the point where he understood what she meant when she'd told Lucas that it wasn't a situation that he should be worried about.

Josh had to physically stop himself from saying the next sentence that came to mind. He pressed an open mouthed kiss to the inside of her shoulder instead before tucking her into his arms. "Don't do it again." He whispered into her hair.

All it took was her looking up at him. Josh had her back on top of the dresser with his hands embedded in her hair before she was able to get out her next breath.

The next knock was sturdier, and Lucas managed it as he was opening the door. To his credit, he didn't look in the direction that he'd left them in, choosing instead to move toward the bag on the floor on the other side of the bed. "Not that I _really_ want to be standing in here," he began, dropping his sneakers into the bag and reaching for the clothes that Josh had folded when he'd gotten into the shower. "But we actually have reservations."

* * *

The Polyvore can be found at **and-the-moments-gone [period] Polyvore [period] com [slash] ?filter=collections**  
It currently houses the clothing worn by Maya and Riley in this story (more to come). I also update it every few chapters, in case you're interested.

And you guys asked for it, so I obliged. **8tracks [slash] andthemomentsgone [slash] hart** for Josh's Playlist for Maya!

Maya's will be up soon! I'm still working on uploading it.

* * *

Coming Soon:

 _"That's ridiculously girly."_

 _"It's also mine."_


	34. Interlude: Colors

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,619  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

Author's Note: So, who missed me? I apologize for the lack of updates. There have been a few personal issues, but I am back now, and you can expect another update on it's usual Friday schedule! Unfortunately this chapter is unbeta'd. Hopefully the next one will be SPaG error free.

* * *

There was something to be said about waking up on the last full day of a foreign vacation with nothing on the docket after a full night's sleep.

The group had gotten in from Naples late the night before. Josh had been volunteered to drive this time as well. That was if you could refer to Zay ordering a round of shots for everyone and Lucas forgetting that they weren't going back to the hotel they changed clothes in before doing them, 'volunteering'. He'd sent the others on up to bed while he dealt with the rental –which took longer than he thought it should with the word Minkus on the rental agreement- before claiming his own bed and the blonde in it.

When he rolled over, however, said blonde was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Hey, you."

It didn't take him too long to find her. Not that Josh would admit to trying too hard. He ordered breakfast, took the longest shower he had been allowed since they'd first arrived in Italy, checked his emails, and then texted his niece for a status update. And while he had been relaxing the morning away, it seemed that Maya had decided some true BFF time was due. Riley said they had gone out into the city for breakfast, without Will or Lucas, and then Maya and her sketchpad kept Riley company on the roof terrace while she got a head start on the reading for the next part of her classes.

It was that sketchbook that she looked up from as he stepped up behind and dropped a kiss to the bit of shoulder left bare by her hair. It was a testament to her trust in him that she didn't double check that Riley still hadn't emerged after running back down to her room to grab the notebook that she forgot to bring up with her.

She also didn't shield her sketchpad from him as she tilted her chin to get a proper kiss. "Hi."

"You know," Josh took a sip of the glass at her elbow as he surveyed her latest work. "I had to text my niece to figure out where you were."

Maya pursed her lips, eyeing the phone in full view on the table. "Really?"

He laughed carefully. "That would have taken the fun out of it."

"Naturally."

"She didn't tell me where everyone else was, though." Josh dropped himself into the chair on the other side of Maya, facing the entrance to the terrace.

Dropping her graphite stick, Maya leaned back in her chair. "Farkle and Smackle went to breakfast," she started, eyes closing. "I don't know where they ended up, and if it's back in their room, you're on your own for details." His nose scrunched, and he swallowed his 'fair enough' with a laugh. "Zay talked his way onto a tour with the sorority girls that checked in yesterday –he's checking in with Luke every once in a while, though, so at least we know he hasn't been arrested yet- and since I've apprehended Riley, Will drug Lucas off to some museum. I think." She paused and reached for her phone. "Don't quote me on that."

"Don't quote you on what?" Riley wandered up behind her now, reclaiming her chair and dropping two notebooks down onto the table instead of just the one she went to retrieve.

"I can't remember where Will took Lucas," Maya reached for the graphite again.

"The _Pigorini_." Riley flipped her textbook open, retrieving the highlighter that she used as a page marker. "National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography."

Josh stole another sip of Maya's water in an attempt to hide his snort. He failed. "Lucas went freely, right?" He asked after he set the glass back down. "We don't have to hide the fact that he was bound and gagged and drug through Rome?"

"As far as I'm aware." Maya brushed an imaginary speck of something off of her page before reaching for the traveling pouch she kept her Copics in. "Although you may want to do a thorough search for abrasions when he returns."

Riley finally looked up then, eyes bright. "On Lucas or Will?"

The noise that came from Maya next sounded a bit too much like a negative reprimand that one would give an animal. "We've had that discussion, Pumpkin." She pointed out with a hunter green marker. He wanted to ask which discussion it was that the girls had had, but a blush from Riley before she turned back to her work meant that Josh was probably better off not knowing.

So instead, Josh leaned forward again, taking in the deep strokes of green that Maya was adding to a peacock feather. "That's more than a little amazing." He redirected.

"Maya's designing another tattoo," Riley informed him without looking up from her outline.

His mind trickled back to the night before his birthday. "It's ridiculously girly." He decided after a quick moment. She had promised him that she would toy with ideas for a new tattoo of his very own, but he really hoped that the dramatic and stylized the peacock feather and daisy yin-yang that encompassed the entire page of Maya's sketchpad wasn't what she had in mind.

Maya dropped the marker, huffing to herself. "It's also _mine_ ," she threw out casually, popping the magnetic clip that held the pages together and flipping back a handful of pages. Once the pages were settled –and the clip reattached to keep the wind from ruffling more pages- the pad was dropped into Josh's lap. " _This_ is yours."

And indeed it was. It was also based on the tattoo he already had. The outline was a rough sketch of Josh's hand, complete with the off center compass rose and the dimple on the bottom of his palm. On the inside of his wrist, in Maya's elegant calligraphy were the words 'memento vivere'.

 _Remember to live_.

"This isn't an original design." His smile betrayed any annoyance that he might have been trying to fake.

Maya nodded slowly, "You got that one –what?- four years ago?" While it didn't take a genius to do the math on when he'd turned eighteen, Josh was actually kind of impressed that Maya had remembered when he had gotten his tattoo. He nodded slowly. "I figured you should probably start small and remember what it felt like."

"You don't think I can take the pain?" His eyes were challenging. His tone was fun.

She quirked an eyebrow, almost forgetting that over exaggerated flirting was actually allowed around Riley, no matter if she knew of their current relationship status. "You really want to start with a chest piece without reminding yourself?"

While she might have had a point, Josh wasn't going to concede. "You say that like you've already designed one."

"Do I look like the kind of girl that would do that?" Maya's eyes were rolling even as she dropped the Copic marker back into the pouch with one hand and reached for the pad with the other. She removed the clip and dropped it in the bag as well, flipping a few more pages.

Beside her, Riley just laughed. "Maya's designing me another one too."

"No, I'm not."

Her tone wasn't as playful as it had been when she was directing her words to Josh alone. It actually gave him pause. Riley certainly stopped her outlining to huff at her friend "Why not?"

Even though she knew she had Riley's full attention, Maya didn't look up. "If you show up at your parents' house without another Maya Hart idea permanently etched into your skin this year," she started off-handedly. She finished spinning pages, replaced the clip and shifted to hand Josh the pad with a more delicate hand. "I do believe that your father will _actually_ murder me."

Josh made the mistake of looking down before Riley responded to Maya's accusation. It was the only reason he could think of as to why he had completely missed whatever his niece's retort was.

The page in front of him could simply be described as a graphite sketch. Turning it slightly, Josh realized that 'simply' was never a word that should be used with a Maya Hart design. The perimeter of the sketch was a gray and black watercolor dragon, chasing and swallowing its own tail. The wings, while impressive, were relatively low profile, pulling away from the body to curve along the circular design without standing out overmuch. The intricate details were found inside the circle, where one semicircle was filled with complicated white vinework against a black background –leading up to a small white circle- and the other semicircle was its photo negative.

He had to bite his tongue in order to swallow the quip about yin-yangs appearing to be stuck in her head.

"Ouroboros," Riley declared sagely, nodding to Josh's lap.

"You study Ancient Egyptian iconography in Psych 101, Pumpkin?" Maya's voice was once again playful as she cocked her head to the side to smile at her best friend.

The brunette just shrugged. "You're not the only one that Farkle sends those 'fun fact' links to." Josh watched Maya repeat the gesture. "And Carl Jung actually had some interesting insights on the process of individuation and the human psyche in correlation with the ouroboros."

Maya's head shook just enough to be noticed while she scrunched her nose. "I will buy you that scarf you were fawning over this morning if you _don't_ elaborate on that."

It didn't go unnoticed that Maya was still scanning Josh's face for approval. "Well someone needs to enlighten me." Josh decided. "Because other than the 'tail-devouring snake' I have to admit I'm kinda lost on this one."

"Do I need to explain the yin and yang as well?" The light in Maya's eyes flared, and Josh knew that his ignorance was forgiven.

"That one I get." Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Josh's eyes promised retribution for her jest when they didn't have an audience. "What does ouroboros normally mean?"

Riley dropped her pencil again, scooting closer to look over Josh's shoulder. "Traditionally it's an emblem of wholeness or infinity." She took in the entire design and bit her lip. "The whole is greater than the assembled parts for all eternity?" She guessed.

"There is no way that I was just playing with a doodle and it got out of hand?" Maya threw out.

His niece seemed to shrug, picking her pencil back up. "I've learned to take you at face value at my own peril." Josh threw out carefully. Her eyes caught his as she reached for the sketch pad, and without thinking, Josh grasped her wrist. "And just in case I'm curious." His thumb brushed over her pulse point. "Just where were you thinking that I put this particular piece of art?"

Blue eyes flared again, and Maya released her grip on the spirals of the binding of the sketch pad. She didn't shake his fingers off either, as she scooted to the edge of her chair and ran her fingers over the buttons of his shirt before settling over one breast pocket.

Josh wondered if it was significant that she had ventured more towards her right than his.

Or if she had purposefully recommended that he place a piece of herself right above his heart.

* * *

Both designs were still in the back of his mind when Isadora and Farkle emerged from their room shortly before lunch. Zay hadn't made it back yet, and Will and Lucas were still on the other side of the city, so the five of them thought long and hard about possible lunch destinations, and then Maya pulled out her phone and they all agreed to try whatever was the highest rated on her TripAdvisor App.

While that led the five of them to the other side of the Tiber River, no one seemed to mind. Josh was actually pleasantly surprised that almost none of the usual jabs that would have been on the tip of Maya's tongue actually made it out of her mouth at the fact that Farkle had suddenly become the most laid back person in the entire group.

"It's nice to know that at least one good thing can come out of plighting one's troth to another human being."

And it seemed as if Maya had just been biding her time.

Riley seemed to be faster than Josh was, slipping her arm around her best friend as they left _Panino Divino_ in search of their next destination, and popping the older woman on the rear. "You're not planning on getting married, Peaches?"

"I honestly never really thought about it." Maya attempted to shrug off. "Any chance we can hit up the _Villa Borghese_ today? I can text Luke and have him and Will meet us there?"

The misdirection might have been well placed, and extremely well timed, but Maya had already opened up the can of worms with her original statement, and no one was planning on letting her slither away from it. "Are we walking," Farkle seemed to consider her request as he pulled up the map app on his phone. "Or do you guys want me to call the car service."

"I just ate my weight in panini," Riley pointed to her stomach as if it there was an extra inch of fat on her to be found. "If it's not horribly far, I don't see why we can't walk."

Farkle slid his arm around his fiancé's shoulder and dropped a kiss on the top of her head when she agreed. "You've never thought about getting married?" He directed the question to the back of Riley's head, but they all knew who he was talking to.

"Has it suddenly become a requirement in life?" Maya shot back, glaring at the genius from over Riley's shoulder. She took a breath, steadied herself, and rolled her eyes. "I guess I just never thought of myself as the marrying type."

There was a brief game of tug-of-war many years ago that disproved that statement. Josh could still hear the clarity of Auggie shouting that Josh was on his team because he was his uncle followed by a rather haughty 'he's _my_ husband!'. But that would probably prove to be more than a little counterproductive to pretty much everything if he brought it up.

"Why wouldn't you be?" Riley had swung around now, one arm around Maya's to keep balance and steer.

"I don't know how to do the whole 'relationship' thing." The blonde said hurriedly, shifting to allow Riley to shake her head and twirl back around. "And I mean, I've never been one of those girls to obsess about my perfect day." A slow laugh and she ruffled Riley's hair. "I'm gonna have a hell of a time with _yours_ my Pinterest Princess." Farkle laughed along with her, and Maya winked over at him. "Remember, when Will starts dropping hints, we need to direct him to her Proposal Plan."

It was Isadora's turn to chuckle. "You have a plan for William to follow when proposing?"

"I think Minkus got off easy, spur of the moment super volcano and all." Maya nodded emphatically, skirting around the arm that Riley waved in her direction and dropping back beside Josh in order to dodge the next blow. "Riles has only been planning hers since we saw Sleepless in Seattle in the sixth grade."

"Lemme guess," Josh paused, stroking his chin. "Observation Deck of the Empire State Building?"

"She'd also settle for anywhere in the general vicinity of the Eiffel Tower." Maya rolled her eyes. "Because she's the biggest girly cliché in the entire world."

"You're just making fun of me because you've never been." When Riley's eyes dropped, pout forming, Maya launched herself at her best friend again.

Maya shrugged as Farkle and Isadora slowed to keep from bumping into them. It took Josh a minute to realize that Riley hadn't been talking about the Eiffel Tower. "Wait," both girls paused in wherever the conversation had turned to next. "You've never been on the OD of the Empire State Building?"

Eyebrows touching her hairline, Maya blinked. "No." She affirmed. "And why do you have to say it like that?"

"You've lived no more than two dozen blocks away from it for most of your life." He caught the amused grin start to spread on Farkle's lips and continued anyway. "Hell, I grew up in Philly and I've been there five or six times."

"That's because it's a tourist attraction." Maya's top lip quirked. "I've also never climbed Lady Liberty, or seen the tree lighting and skated at Rockefeller Center."

"She's vetoed us ever doing New Year's Eve in Times Square too," Riley told her uncle sagely.

At that, Maya released Riley again. "That's because I have no desire to ring in the new year pressed against a million of my sweaty, drunk, obnoxious neighbors." She admonished. "And everything else is just too kitschy."

Beside him, Smackle nodded slowly. "And expensive." She dramatically mouthed when she realized she had Josh's attention. Aloud she said, "We weren't talking about the practicalities of the city." Her hand slid down Farkle's arm to slide her fingers between his. "We were discussing your unwillingness to get married."

"I never said I was unwilling." Maya corrected loudly, shooting Isadora a glare. "I just don't think I have the mindset of someone who should be making a trip down an aisle in a puffy white dress."

"There is no right mindset." Farkle pointed out just as Isadora announced, "And I was considering a lovely mermaid silhouette."

"The thought of being with someone forever does have a tendency to scare people." Josh threw out without thinking.

There was a sputter, and when Maya stopped short, she almost took Riley down with her. "How in the hell did this turn into a discussion about me and marriage?" She gestured in the direction of Farkle and Isadora's joined hands.

The hand that wasn't holding Farkle's fiancé's rose, pointing back in her direction. "You started it, Sweetcheeks." He gave her on halfhearted 'ha' for emphasis, and she stuck her tongue out at the younger man as Riley reached for her hand.

* * *

When they had started their stint in Rome, there had been a long list of things that the young adults had wanted to cram into their days. There had been museums and shops that required thorough investigation, and more monuments than Josh knew it would be physically possible for them to see all of. Josh had actually started to wonder which one of them would be disappointed that they didn't accomplish everything that they had set out to do.

It all sort of melted away when Farkle managed to procure a few thick blankets on their way to Maya's chosen destination, and the girls claimed a semi-shady spot under some trees near the lake with a brilliant view of the Temple of Asclepius.

They had toured the Medici Villa on the way in, and met the rest of their party on top of Pincian Hill for a Riley and Zay instigated tourist style photo op before wandering down to explore the Villa itself and explore the park. In one of the many gift shops, someone had procured a Frisbee –with the logo of what assumed was that Roman tourist board on top- and Zay and Lucas spent a fair amount of time with Farkle, trying to teach Isadora the proper way to fling the discus.

Will had picked up a few books somewhere alone his and Lucas's trip, and after the blankets had been spread, he read through one as Riley lounged against him. Josh had to give him points for not saying anything when Riley shifted her hips, making room for Maya and her sketchpad on their side of the blanket. Josh kept an eye on them from an adjacent blanket, even as he shouted encouragements to Isadora and thumbed through the iPad Farkle abandoned.

It lasted all of twenty minutes.

He didn't know what Maya was drawing -Riley would most likely have the best position for that- but Josh could see that whatever it was involved a lot of short quick strokes that seemed to flow from Maya's arm, up her shoulder to shake Riley. It probably would have been an issue if Riley had been in a different position and Maya's strokes weren't shaking Will as well.

"Okay." Will dropped his book onto the blanket beside him, shifting all three of them just by moving his leg. "I understand shading the way anyone who has Youtubed it for an art project at three am can," Maya's hand rose so his next shift wouldn't disrupt her. "But if you're gonna keep shaking my leg while doing it, then I'm going to have to politely ask you to lay against someone else."

Maya didn't bother to turn to face him, merely shifting her brows over the rim of her stolen aviators. "Oh," she said quietly. "I'm sorry Bixby." It was a good thing that Will knew who he was talking to. He didn't bat an eye when she slipped a finger over the graphite tip of her pencil and shook her arm vigorously. "Does this bother you?"

All it took was one well-timed shift, and Maya slipped further down Riley's leg, Will reach for his book again. "Not anymore."

"And you're what passes for a gentleman." Maya threw out as she set her supplies down and leveraged herself back up. She did, however, spare Josh a slow glance before shifting up to her knees, padding across the blankets to drop down beside him and braced herself against his bent knee.

This was a dance that they had done more than once, even before they started sleeping together. Josh shifted against the root he was leaning on, bracing the leg that was upright with the foot of the leg lying down so Maya had a semi-stable space to lean on. She resumed her position, knee curled under herself, arm braced against her side for full range of motion on the sketch pad. She smiled to herself as she realized that Josh's position wasn't as shaded as Will's and that she had more light to work with.

A few more minutes passed and Farkle finally convinced Will to join them in one of the worst games of Frisbee that Josh had ever seen, almost all of the boys slamming into each other at some point.

"Do you think I'm a silly romantic?" Riley wasn't looking up at them. She had rolled to her stomach when Will had vacated the blanket, flipping through one of the books he left behind.

Maya's hand slowed just a touch. Josh lifted his brows to watch her regard his niece with a quick glance before returning to her work. Maya knew better than to attack the question head on. "Not at all." She added another line, reconsidered, and reached for her eraser. "Why in the world would you think that?"

"You were making fun of my proposal plan." The sentence wasn't said so much as it flopped out of her lips.

Maya winced. "Yeah," she said softly, bracing the pencil between her teeth so she could finish erasing. She didn't make another sound until the graphite was no longer touching her lips. "Yeah, I was." She paused. "And I have made fun of it since the day you've announced that you had one," Josh noted that Maya still hadn't looked at her best friend. "But that doesn't mean that it's silly. Or that you're wrong for having it, Pumpkin." She chose her next words carefully, leaning forward so she was no longer touching him. Her lips formed words that she never spoke, and then Maya seemed to change tactics. "I don't have a proposal plan." She said at last, garnering Riley's full attention. "I don't have a 'dream wedding', or the 'perfect ring'. I damn sure have never considered what my wedding dress would look like beyond that day I married Farkle in the seventh grade."

Now that was a story that Josh was going to get to hear if it killed her.

But Maya was moving on, almost literally as she set her sketch off to the side. "I don't expect the heavens or the shooting stars. I don't want gemstones or gold. The way I grew up, those are the kind of things that led to disappointment and heartbreak." Riley's eyes widened, and Maya leaned forward, grasping her friend's ankle and pulling her –and the blanket she was on- closer. "But you do. And you _should_." Pulling Riley into her lap, Maya leaned against Josh again. "And I'm gonna be cheering you on every step of the way until you get all of those things." She dropped a kiss to Riley's cheek. "Because you deserve them."

"You deserve them too, Peaches." Riley couldn't reach Maya's cheek from her current position, so she patted the older girl on the head.

"Eh," Maya's grunt was noncommittal.

Farkle dropped himself onto the undisturbed blanket, making sure there was enough room for Zay to do the same. "What do you want?" The latter asked as he reached for his bottle of water. "Ya know if you don't want all of the fancy things?"

Maya seemed to consider both the man asking the question and the question itself. "I want…" She shifted on her tailbone, readjusting Riley in her arms. "I dunno. II want a steady hand and a kind soul." Her eyes dropped shut and Josh smiled. "I want to fall asleep and wake up knowing that my heart is safe. I don't need to get married for any of that."

Everyone seemed to nod at once, Riley managing to twist herself up to plant a kiss on Maya's cheek.

Zay stroked the stubble on his chin. "An actual boyfriend might be a step in the right direction, though," he offered sagely.

There was a moment when Josh watched Zay calculate just how screwed he was for his statement before Maya finally cracked a smile. Her head cocked to the side, chin bumping Josh's knee. "Now you're just arguing semantics."

* * *

"Farkle's threatening another 'oh-God-is-that-an-actual-time thirty' wake up for everyone." Lucas warned casually, dropping his leather jacket over Maya's shoulders as she pushed away from the railing she was leaning on.

Their low-key day had turned into an evening extravaganza as rapidly as Zay declaring that he wasn't allowing this trip to go out with a whimper.

Again, Farkle surprised the group by handing Zay the figurative cruise director cap and letting him run with it. And Maya had only been slightly put out when Zay informed her that the skinny jeans and tank top that she had announced she was going to be wearing to dinner would fit neither the venue he had selected for them to dine nor the after dinner entertainment that he had managed to arrange.

Josh had to commend him on the fact that other than a 20-minute cab ride to the Ostiense neighborhood, there had been no reason for the girls to complain about traveling in heels.

Dinner had been another low-key event, not counting their attire. They ate at the _Vinile_ restaurant, enjoying local wine while listening to soft jazz and discussing the end of their first [and last] year of school. Farkle had already begun making summer plans –his sister was apparently distraught that he had already reserved his parents Hamptons house for the week before the Fourth of July so they could celebrate his birthday- and Lucas had invited everyone to Austin for the annual County Fair. Maya skipped over all of the obvious jokes to ask him if he'll be mutton busting again and then told him that under no circumstances whatsoever was he to think she would let him get on another bull. There was also talk of parents planning Isadora and Farkle's engagement party, even though she shouted at anyone listening that she and Farkle were definitely considering a long engagement.

With one arm on the back of Riley's chair, and the other discretely on Maya's thigh, Josh announced that he had been approved for the first apartment he'd applied for, and that once he and Austin moved out of the NYU sponsored living quarters, he would become a permeant resident of the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo. The entire table cheered –Maya announcing that the first round of shots when they got to whatever club Zay had planned next was on her- and Riley beamed that her uncle was sticking around.

And if the girls on either side of him noticed the way Farkle smiled at Maya's enthusiasm, or the nod that he gave Josh when he raised his glass, they didn't seem to care.

Josh caught Maya's lopsided smile now, standing on the terrace of _Club Vinile_ at a quarter to midnight. She seemed to consider Lucas's statement before shaking her head. "You know, we've made it a full week without incident." If her smile wasn't so bright, Josh might actually have thought her next statement was going to be a serious one. "We could probably get away with dumping his body in the Tiber and claiming we have no idea what happened to him."

Lucas shook his head, dropping his chin to the top of hers. "That's not going to change the fact that wheels go up on our flight home at nine forty am local."

"And with a two-hour lead time and a forty-five-minute trip to the airport, that I can sleep through," Maya held a finger up in triumph at that statement. "I don't see a reason for me to have to get up before six fifteen unless the building is on fire."

"No one in their right mind would want you conscious any earlier than you absolutely had to be." Will dropped his beer bottle on the high table next to Josh's elbow and laughed.

A quick headcount revealed that they were still three people short, and the designated adult in Josh couldn't help but throw a glance into the building behind them to note that Farkle and Isadora were still sitting on the couches they'd claimed at the beginning of the night and Zay was doing shots at the bar with a group of ladies.

To his right, Maya shot Will a glare. "One of these days you're gonna need me, Bix." She waved a finger in his direction, "And I'm gonna remember this moment."

Riley slid in beside her boyfriend, her hand slipping along his belt line. "Do you guys have a quota for how many times you have to have this conversation?"

"Yes," Will seemed to say without thinking. "And seeing as though we missed the month of February, and April's not looking too good for us, we're trying to squeeze it all in now." He dropped another kiss to the crown of Riley's head and bumped his fist to Maya's all in one motion.

Riley shrugged him off, tucking herself underneath her uncle's arm. "Do you see what I have to put up with?"

"And this time tomorrow night you're gonna miss the hell out of their banter." Lucas drained his bottle, with one final gulp. "Don't even try to deny it."

"I will." Maya snagged Riley by the wrist, pulling her across the short expanse. Both girls were in heels, which put Riley a full head above her best friend. It was her turn to drop her chin to Maya's head. "I really will." Riley insisted. Then her eyebrow quirked. "Have you even started packing?"

The quick twitch of Maya's nose told everyone that could see her face all they needed to know. "It's all suitcase adjacent." She muttered mostly to herself.

"She will be packed and down to the lobby in time for the shuttle," Lucas assured Riley, stepping up behind them. There was a whoop from inside as the music picked back up and everyone turned toward the glass doors. "I'm just glad that I'm not the one responsible for getting Zay moving in the morning."

Will's eyes widened when the implication became clear. "He's your best friend."

"He's on your floor." Lucas reasoned.

Josh nodded. "Sounds fair to me." When Will started to protest, Josh just nodded to the two girls intertwined. "Lucas and I have Maya," he reminded the man. "You wanna trade?"

"You want to get rid of me, Matthews?" Stepping out of her best friend's arms, Maya was suddenly in front of him.

 _I'm want to kiss you_. His mind filled in for him, even as his left hand twitched. "As if I could." He vocalized instead. Behind her, Lucas laughed.

He wasn't sure when she reached for his hand, but soon she was spinning in front of him using his arm for leverage. "Just for that, you've got to dance with me." She announced with another twirl, handing Will her empty bottle. Riley deftly removed Lucas's jacket mid-spin, tucking it under her arm.

"You could at least pretend you're not about to enjoy this." Maya led Josh through the doors and down the short staircase to the dance floor.

Josh shifted his hands to her hips, pulling her back into his chest. "For the first time in a week, I have a legitimate excuse to touch you in public." He touched his lips to her bare shoulder, inhaling the cinnamon and vanilla that seemed to trail after her whether she used the associated products or not. "There is no way in hell I'm not about to enjoy this." He dipped her then, simply because he could.


	35. Interlude: Home

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,940  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Quick Author's note: My Beta is back! My Beta is back! And you guys can thank El for this one. Without her you guys may not have gotten this until next week!

* * *

The moan was what woke him. Low, throaty, and immediately to his right.

Josh almost thought he had imagined it.

Then came another, this one louder, and Maya groaned out a sigh. " _God_ I love you."

His eyes popped open then, and Josh's entire body jerked upright.

Much like their trip out of the country, the flight had begun with the eight of them taking the seats that they had been assigned by the airline. Will had boxed Zay in closest to the cockpit, with the two geniuses taking the seats across the aisle. Lucas had been lucky enough to be stuck in the aisle seat to Maya's window, and Riley had managed to slip into the window seat beside Josh.

He wasn't sure when exactly he had fallen asleep. He certainly hadn't planned on it. But sometime between his moments of consciousness Lucas had started a game of cards with Will, Zay was demoted to the window seat behind where he started, and Maya was sitting in the middle of the aisle beside Riley, who had managed to get around Josh's sleeping form to steal Lucas's seat.

"I bet you say that to all the boys." Farkle's laugh brought Josh back to the present, and he shifted in his seat to watch Farkle hand over another Venchi cremini square.

Another moan as she popped it into her mouth. "Only the ones who give me chocolate," she laughed as she caught another square. "Why the hell didn't you tell me about these before we left?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Then we wouldn't have had anything to bribe you with on the flight home."

Her chuckle negated her eye roll. "You're all terrible people."

Riley blew her a kiss from the other side of Lucas. "We love you too, Peaches."

"Terrible people," Maya muttered to herself. A piece of chocolate cleared the seat in front of Josh, landing neatly in Maya's lap. "Except Farkle." She declared obediently. "I love Farkle."

"You love chocolate." While Josh couldn't see the genius, his voice was loud enough.

Maya rolled her eyes. "And as the facilitator of said divinity, you are loved by extension." It was obviously the right thing to say. She turned to brace herself on Lucas's leg and her grin widened when another piece dropped into her lap. "Score!"

The curtain behind them ruffled, and a flight attendant seemed to come out of nowhere, stopping about a foot away from the group and narrowing her eyes at Maya. "Signorina," she regarded everyone in front of her, finally giving them a smile. " _Ti dispiacerebbe rimuovere se stessi dal centro del pavimento? Stiamo per essere che serve il pranzo presto_."

There was about half a second of lag time while Maya ran the translation through her head. " _Ovviamente_." She braced her hands on the floor, pulling her feet underneath her. " _Mie scuse_."

The attendant just nodded.

The only empty seat between the eight of them was on the other side of Josh. Maya bounced on her heels one good time before climbing over Josh into it. He didn't even have it in him to look repentant when she slipped, and he managed to get a handful of her rear as he tried to steady her.

"Smackle, truth or dare?"

Zay hardly got the end of his sentence out before Will shook his head. " _No_." When the dark haired man opened his mouth to refute, Will actually turned around. " _Hell_ no."

"Are you afraid to lose?" Riley's voice was challenging.

Josh was actually about to step up for Will when Maya shook her head. "We are in a small, enclosed space barrelling towards New York City at a little under Mach One." She leaned onto her arm rest, her hand practically in Josh's lap. "There are only so many times we can be dared to kiss each other before it just gets boring."

"You're opposed to kissing people?" Lucas just laughed. "Or is it situational?"

Again, Josh was seconds away from opening his mouth when Maya pulled herself into his lap to reach across the aisle and smack Lucas's shoulder. "I'm never kissing you again." She announced haughtily.

Lucas's eyes caught Josh's, and the younger man spared him a nod. "Promises, promises."

* * *

It was one thing to have been told that the eight of them were the bulk of the first class passengers. When the only American flight attendant said it at the beginning of their trip, Josh had actually been relieved in a way. It was another thing entirely for Farkle to excuse himself from the rest of the group to move back three seats so he could touch base with his father and his housekeeper –because Stuart Minkus demanded that his son focuses on his studies, not dirty dishes and laundry- before popping headphones in to get a thirty-minute power nap. Smackle waited until he was off the phone and had his seat reclined before wandering back to join him.

Sparing a look around him, Josh actually noted that the mood in the first class cabin had slowly sunk into what he would refer to as a morose one. Will had pulled his laptop out, the syllabus for his classes the next day in front of him, and a pen stuck between his teeth as he typed. Riley was laying across his lap, pretending to flip through a bridal magazine –she had sworn she bought it for Isadora- while nodding off every few minutes. Lucas was going to be spending the night in the city to spend some time with his parents, so he tapped away at his laptop for some assignment or another. Even Zay had buckled down to their impending reality. He had called the frat brother that was going to be picking him up in Austin, making sure he still had a ride, and FaceTimed his mother because his connecting flight was too close to their arrival for him to be able to see her between the two.

Josh was pretty sure he was now playing Flappy Bird on his iPad though. So he hadn't completely reverted.

And to his right –because of course she decided about two minutes after she'd taken the seat next to him that she would prefer the aisle- Maya was tucked under his arm with her feet stretched out into the space between her and Lucas.

She had one ear bud in, even though Josh was pretty sure she wasn't actually actively listening to anything at that current moment, and she was doodling nonsense onto one of the apps of her tablet. Josh abandoned his laptop in favor of watching chibi Riley come to life in front of him, riding a gondola. The laugh that bubbled up in his chest was staunched only be the reality that Maya would most likely erase it if he admitted to noticing it.

Instead, Josh shifted, pulling his right hand from his mouse pad and sliding it down Maya's shoulder in a subtle caress.

"Did you have a good week?"

Maya tipped her head back, locking eyes with him over the rim of her glasses. "It didn't suck."

Maya must have been well aware that her answer wasn't an answer.

She started to blink, and to pull herself back up so she could return to chibi Riley and whatever other adventures awaited her. Josh wasn't sure why he didn't let her go. It wasn't as if he wasn't well aware that this was the kind of behavior that they had both fought so hard against during their time in Italy. He didn't glance up to his niece and Will, and he only partially remembered that unlike the two in the seat diagonal from them, Zay was actually directly across the aisle from them. "Gorgeous?"

Movement stopped.

The blonde dropped the back of her head again to Josh's chest. "Some parts were definitely better than others."

His lips dropped to her forehead for the briefest of seconds before being replaced with his own brow. "I think I know exactly what you mean." Common sense finally prevailed, and Josh leaned back to what he thought was an appropriate distance. "You looking forward to finally getting back to your own bed?"

Another shift in her eyes and Maya's nose twitched. "Mom's in Boston. Shawn's in England." She gave a soft chuckle. "Reneè's probably throwing a damn rave in the dorm." Josh couldn't even start to disagree with that prediction. "But I've been surrounded by people for eight days." Josh wouldn't have noticed the hitch in her breath if she hadn't been leaning against him. "I don't know if I really want to be alone tonight."

"Austin got home yesterday," Josh offered without an ounce of forethought. And it occurred to him halfway through the sentence that he really was asking her was to come home with him. "So I can't promise you that it won't be _like_ being surrounded by eight people…" he let the rest of the sentence hang.

For the longest breath, Maya didn't move. Then she shifted, turning her head so she was no longer looking at him upside down. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

Josh tried very hard not to understand why she was pulling away from him. Of the seven other people on the trip with them, he was the one that Maya had had the most contact with, and there had a be a part of her that was as acutely aware of it as he was.

In front of them, Riley sneezed. Maya bolted upright.

He knew she couldn't see him, but Josh nodded anyway. "Think about it?" He asked her gently.

He didn't see Maya pop the earbud out. Maya was too busy using him as a springboard to launch herself into the aisle. "We've got about three hours before we land." She declared to their seatmates. Riley pulled herself upright and Will cursed. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not ready to let them go quietly."

Smackle appeared from nowhere behind them.

Again, Will cursed.

There was a very moving rendition of 'Breaking Up is Hard to Do' when their 757 touched down at John F. Kennedy International. Zay started belting it the second the pilot turned off the 'fasten your seatbelt' sign and it rang through first class as he hugged and kissed –and yes, Josh meant kissed- everyone goodbye. He was actually the first person off of the plane, dashing up the jet-way to make sure he made his connecting flight. The rest of them seemed content to shuffle up the ramp with as little enthusiasm as possible, Riley and Maya clinging to each other while Lucas and Will juggled the girl's carry-ons with their own.

Since Farkle and Isadora were headed to another terminal themselves –Isadora first, because Farkle refused to let her wait for him to get on a plane and scheduled his flight after hers- theirs was the next goodbye. Josh tried his best not to seem like the uncle he truly was as he made sure that they had everything they needed and before standing off to the side while the rest of them hugged it out.

He didn't catch what Farkle whispered in Maya's ear, nor was he about to actually ask her about it, but she pulled back sharply after giving him one last squeeze, eyes wide and careful.

No one had to be a lip reader to make out Farkle's 'think about it' before he slung Isadora's carry on over his shoulder with one arm and traced the other down his fiancé's spine. With one more nod to the group, the two geniuses were on their way.

"This has officially become depressing," Maya announced as they stepped into line at the escalator. She had retrieved her bags from Lucas with a small 'thank you' and Josh wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she refused to meet his eyes. "I think I remembered my fake ID, I say we hit a Happy Hour and do shots before Rile's train leaves."

It was one thirty in the afternoon on a Sunday. But even then no one had the heart to remind Maya that Happy Hour wasn't happening.

"Even if it were legal," Will tipped his hat to Maya. "Riley and I need to head towards her train."

The final act of Minkus generosity for this trip was awaiting them on the other end of the escalator they were stepping onto. Stuart had arranged for two separate cars to take them to their destinations. Will and Riley would head to Grand Central as soon as they had their luggage, dropping them off and then delivering Will's baggage to his parent's townhouse. Lucas, Josh, and Maya had their own car waiting to return them to their own homes.

"Mom and Dad are meeting us." Riley reminded the group, the reality that they really were parting ways catching up to her. "We were going to do Cipriani and talk about the trip."

Maya choked back her laugh. "You've had a week of _actual_ Italian food." She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and sighed. "You'd think Matthews would realize that." There was a pause, and the blonde glanced over her shoulder. "I, however, think Thai is in order this evening."

Josh wasn't sure which one of them she was talking to, so he simply nodded at Lucas.

"You could come." The brunette was quick to clamor out of Will's arms and launch herself at her friend. "We wouldn't mind!"

"I appreciate the gesture, Pumpkin." How Maya managed to keep them both upright would probably remain a mystery. "But I humbly decline." She brushed the hair out of Riley's eyes and kissed her brow. "I've got an art lecture first thing in the morning, and I'm pretty sure it's gonna contain a lot of quotes from the one textbook I didn't bring with me this trip."

Lucas wasn't able to hide his smirk as Will pointed out that he didn't think Maya had brought any textbooks with her to Italy.

Sarcastic comments dissolved into a somber silence as they ascended to the Arrivals Level.

As expected, at the end of the row at baggage claim were two well-dressed gentlemen holding signs that read 'Minkus'.

"Is it possible they chose that because everyone else has a fairly common last name?" Maya questioned aloud, holding up her hand and smiling at the men. "Yo Lou!"

The taller of the two men stepped forward, his arm immediately coming out to relieve Maya of her bags. "Welcome back, Miss Hart." He offered Lucas and Josh both nods. "I trust that you had a pleasant trip?"

Josh watched as Maya's face relaxed just a little bit more. "Absolutely." She planted a kiss on the driver's cheek and skipped off toward the luggage carousel.

Lucas dropped his rolling tote on the rack in front of Lou and shook his head. "Did you lose a bet?"

The bald driver's smile was more pronounced now. "I volunteered Mister Friar."

"What else was on the schedule?" Will had already handed his bags to the second gentleman, and was now situating Riley's on the trolley so he could move to the carousel himself.

"Mrs. Bassett-Minkus and the girls are returning from Turtle Bay later this afternoon."

Josh couldn't recall whether or not Farkle had told them that his mother had offered to take his sisters and their friends to some resort or another in Honduras for their Spring Break. He did agree that chauffeuring three young adults home after a long trip was probably a better detail than being stuck in traffic with eight teenagers and Jennifer Bassett-Minkus after an equally long flight.

Lou nodded to the moving carousel. "If you wouldn't mind collecting your bags, Mister Matthews."

It didn't take nearly as long as Josh thought it would for their bags to come down the chute. Maya already had hers and Riley's by the time the guys had made it to them anyway. Then it was a simple matter of allowing the drivers to load them in the back of their respective SUV and say their goodbyes.

The latter was the hardest on the girls.

"We're celebrating Bix's birthday next weekend." Maya reminded her brunette counterpart. "So all we have to do is make it through this week."

"I'll FaceTime you the second I get home." Riley agreed.

They shared another long hug while Lucas clapped Will on the back, and then the younger two were loaded into their car.

"East 21st and GPE," Lucas told Lou easily, tossing his carry-on bag into the front seat of the SUV. It was a pretty safe bet that the chauffer knew where his parents lived, but they were a group that was known for flipping the script on a whim. "8 Beach in Tri-"

It was subtle, but the quick shake of Maya's head was enough to halt the Texan's tongue. "The Green House." She corrected him slowly, her eyes meeting Josh's. "East 7th." When Lucas swallowed his next comment, Maya dropped her purse onto the middle seat of the SUV. "I'm pretty sure that book I was telling Riley about is still on your coffee table."

To his credit, Josh didn't blink. "I'll see what Austin's feelings on East Village Thai are."

* * *

"Yo roomie!" Josh had managed to make two steps into the apartment before Austin vaulted himself over the back of the couch. He dropped his laptop bag on the kitchen table, reaching behind him for Maya's purse and carry-on while she wheeled her large suitcase in behind her. Still holding the blonde's bags, Josh allowed his friend to wrap him in a one-armed hug. "How was Italy?"

"Italian," Maya laughed at his clipped tone as she pushed between the roommates in order to steer her suitcase into Josh's room. He decided not to comment on the fact that she was nice enough to move his as well. "What about Cabo?"

Austin had moved further into the room, pulling two trays of takeout out of the oven. "Did you know it's damn near impossible to find time for the ladies surrounded by family?"

Another laugh shot out of his half-closed bedroom door. "I don't know," Maya reemerged a moment later. She had shed the hoodie and camisole in which she had been traveling in favor of one of Josh's high school athletic department t-shirts. She'd kept her leggings. "Josh seemed to manage just fine."

She slid between him and the kitchen island, and Josh pulled her backward into him by her hips. "You're just lucky Riley was a little preoccupied."

"Bixby, three foreign cities, and a Minkus engagement." Maya agreed, taking her plate from Austin's outstretched hand. "Perfect recipe for distraction."

Josh accepted his own plate, following her and Austin into the living area. It appeared that his roommate had already claimed the couch. His plate was situated on the coffee table in front of it, and his laptop was resting on one end. Maya claimed the lounger, setting her bottle of water down before hoisting her legs up in the seat with her. Josh dropped himself onto the floor in front of her.

"You'll never guess what happened to me this week, though." Austin kicked his feet out, rolling his eyes when Maya ran a hand through Josh's hair before stealing a piece of lamb off of his plate.

"You finally got Victoria to agree to go out with you?" She chomped down on another mouthful of her own curried rice, not bothering to actually look up at him.

There was a minute's pause as Austin evaluated the situation. Josh noted that his gaze swept from his and Maya's proximity to each other. He also threw a quick glance over the back of the couch, noting that it was pretty obvious that Maya was staying with them that night. Then there was a quick shake of his head, and Austin's excitement was back.

"If I could have any job in the world, what would it be?" Maya's previous statement was completely forgotten as the older man tried a new tactic.

"It was entirely possible that Josh waited for a beat just to see if Maya would beat him to the punch.

The blonde didn't disappoint. "Towel boy at the Playboy Mansion?"

Austin didn't seem deterred. "In my field of study," he threw out over a slice of bread.

"IT specialist at the Playboy Mansion," Maya tried again.

This time his roommate's smile actually faltered just a touch. "I'm a software engineer, Blondie." He reminded her with a huff.

Maya just shrugged. "So you'll be overqualified."

"You know what?" Austin started, dropping his plate onto the coffee table and setting both feet on the floor again. Josh couldn't hide his smile. It was moments like this that he was going to miss when he moved out on his own in a few months. The man in question stuttered and then shook his head. "I'm not gonna let you kill my vibe," he announced focusing on Josh on the floor. "Lancope called."

As much as he hated to admit it, Josh couldn't remember which company Lancope was, or why he was so excited to have gotten a call.

"Lancope?" Austin caught on to his confusion. "Cisco Security Solutions the information securities firm?" Maya nodded along helpfully, just for the sake of Austin getting to his point quicker. Realization dawned and Josh finally nodded. "They're looking for a Scrum Master for their New York office, and apparently my name was shortlisted. I got the official offer in my email Friday morning."

The bulk of his sentence was immediately forgotten when Austin got his last sentence out.

"You're staying in New York?" Josh didn't notice that Maya reached around him to snag his plate. It didn't matter anyway when he hopped to his feet.

"I'm staying in New York!"

Neither man cared that they were officially bouncing up and down like teenage girls. Josh wouldn't even care later when he discovered that Maya had gotten it in digital form and announced that it was officially blackmail material. The only thing that mattered was that his best friend wasn't moving to the other side of the country in a handful of months.

The aforementioned blonde gave them another minute to celebrate before dropping her water bottle next to the chair and kicking her feet over the arm. "It's not going to bother you at all that your official job title is going to be _Scrum_ _Master_?"

Josh hid his laugh behind a cough, watching Austin's nostril's flare. "Scrum is the methodology that allows a team to self-organize and make changes quickly." He informed the blonde with a haughty glare. I'm going to be overseeing the process for how a development team exchanges information."

" _Scrum_ _Master_." She repeated again.

"Homeboy is a Junior Architect." Austin physically pointed out, waving his arm in Josh's direction. " _Junior_."

" _Architect_ ," Maya emphasized the second word in Josh's job title with a smile. "At one of the top three firms in the world. With a –soon to be- Masters in Architecture and a BS in Environmental Policy and Management." The men shared a look, and Maya bit her bottom lip. "Makes it sound a hell of a lot sexier than Scrum Master."

Had he not been paying more attention to Austin, Josh might have taken pride in Maya's statement. He didn't even consider the implications that she had been paying attention to his prospects.

Austin shook his head, dropping himself back on the couch. "Good thing you're sleeping with him tonight then." He didn't sound childish. Not at all.

"You're not my type anyway." She offered dismissively, turning back to her plate.

* * *

Riley FaceTimed at exactly quarter to eight.

If she was surprised at all that Maya answered the call from the couch of her uncle's apartment, Riley didn't show it. She actually shouted her love to Josh and Austin over the sound of Austin screaming 'Empire State of Mind' in an attempt to keep Maya from hearing what Riley was saying.

It didn't deter either woman. Maya simply announced that he was an idiot –and drunk- and that she was taking the rest of the call on Josh's bed.

She slammed the bedroom door for emphasis. Locking it because she could.

Josh simply finished the movie that he and Austin had started, read back over the syllabus for his Monday classes, and followed up on the project emails that he would need to work the next afternoon. Austin gave up dozing on the couch shortly after nine and finally headed to bed before Josh realized that he'd been awake for almost a full twenty-four hours with only a handful of short naps in between, and it was probably for the best that he find his own bed if he was going to be a fully functional adult.

He could thank his older sister and the annoying habit that she had of locking six-year-old Josh out of the bathroom at the most inconvenient times for the fact that it only took a breath for him to pop the lock on his bedroom door. It was probably for the best that he hadn't even considered trying to knock.

Sometime after Maya had gotten off of the phone with his niece, she had shed her leggings, curling herself into the center of his down comforter. She had also managed to wrap herself around both of his pillows.

As he shed his shirt, Josh allowed himself to wonder if there was some way that he could talk Maya into letting this happen more often.

"Those are some pretty deep thoughts, Matthews." Stretching her legs out, Maya relinquished her hold on one of his pillows, shifting back half a foot to the side of the bed reserved for her. "Feel like sharing?"

"I was just wondering if you'd remembered to set an alarm for tomorrow." His belt was placed on the back of his desk chair, and Josh chose to kick his jeans in the general direction of his hamper instead of making sure they made it into the receptacle. "Mine's going off at eight, and I didn't know if I needed to make sure you were up before I left."

Maya nodded to the dock she had plugged her phone into. "The only thing I've got tomorrow is Weizmann's lecture at eleven." It was a testament to just how many times they had done this that she made no comment about his state of semi-undress before he made it to the bed. Josh made sure to plug his phone into the charger before lifting the covers. "And then I offered to close tomorrow night at Topanga's."

"I can bring you dinner on the way home." He didn't know why he bothered offering. She would say no, and then he'd do it anyway because he really didn't feel like getting the series of complaining texts at quarter to eight that she'd forgotten to eat actual food again and now had to add extra time to her runs to work off the pastries she'd consumed.

"I'll eat before work." She promised him automatically.

Josh rolled his eyes, reclaiming his second pillow and smushing it behind his head with the first. "If you say so."

The lamp on Maya's side of the bed –and the only source of light in the room- clicked off before Maya shifted herself back to the middle. Josh propped his arm up on the wall behind his head until she snuggled firmly into him. Then he ran that same hand down her shoulder to toy with the ends of her hair.

There were several minutes when Maya didn't speak. Josh had actually started to wonder if she had fallen asleep.

Then her hand twitched against his pectoral.

"I've actually been thinking…"

The laugh escaped before he could tamp it down. "That's a dangerous notion for someone who's been up almost twenty-four hours straight." He squirmed away from her twitching fingers on instinct. "Okay," he caught her hand in his. "What were you thinking about?"

"If you were serious the other day," she brought his hand with her when she lifted it back to his chest. "I can stop by my guy on my way to work tomorrow and get my sketch converted for you."

Josh was pretty sure she sounded a lot more secure than she looked. The twitch of her thumb against his skin confirmed it. "I still can't believe you have a 'guy'."

"Do you want the tattoo or not?" Her hand drifted to his ribs again.

"Can I trust you to get me an accurate quote?"

"You're trusting me enough to put one of my designs on your chest for the rest of your life." When she attempted to twist away from him, Josh gripped her hip, pulling her closer. "You can't trust me not to waste your money?"

He dropped a kiss to the space between her eyebrows. "I trust you with my life, Gorgeous." He emphasized his words with another kiss. "I was just asking a question."

Maya's laugh rang through the room. "I'll bring you some options."

"All I ask." Another minute passed before Maya twitched her hips, using his hand as a counter for her to roll onto her side, facing away from him. Josh shifted with her, pulling the covers back up over her shoulder. She was going to wind up with most of them anyway. "Now go to sleep. I'll reset the coffee timer when I get up."

"God among men, Matthews."


	36. Part XVIII: First Defeat

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 7,290  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Quick Author's note: I'm sorry this took so long. My Beta caught the plague at Uni and it took her a little while to make it through editing. I hope it was worth it.

* * *

Shawn had never been happier to be home.

Well, that might not be true.

But he was extremely contented to be paying the cabbie at seven-thirty in the morning after a red-eye flight. It might have been the fact that he and his team successfully packed a week and a half's worth of work into a little over five days. It might have been that he was sick and tired of winding up in London during the rainy season – spoiler alert: there was no such thing as a dry one. Or it could have been that after taking back to back assignments for the last four weeks, this was the first time he was able to get back to the city, and he missed New York.

Even though he was exhausted, and if he didn't nap now his jetlag would not be kind to him, he still made time to stop and say good morning to the Cyr's on the first floor – the missus rushing out to get the kids to school, and her husband trailing behind trying to remember exactly which train he needed to get him to his new job – then he grabbed his mail from the box before heading to the elevator. Maya texted him every few days with pictures of the envelopes she collected, but he was pleasantly surprised that he could hold his semi-stability in his hands, sorting through bills and a wayward paycheck on the way to his floor.

Two stops later found him scrolling through his texts to see if he could figure out on his own whether or not he had to worry about waking the blonde on his way in this morning. The last message he had received was the night before, reminding him rather cheekily that he was an old man and that pub crawls don't go so well at his age.

She hadn't mentioned sleeping arrangements.

Shawn supposed it was all right. She slept with her door closed, whether he was home or not, so as long as he didn't throw a rave between the front door and his bed, Maya should be none the wiser he had arrived.

Or at least that had been the theory.

Shawn wished it still was.

Because the second he stepped out of the box on his floor, he caught sight of a dark flop of hair locking his front door from the outside with the emergency key, turning toward and placing it back in its hiding place before coming to a full stop in front of him.

 _"Shit."_

He wasn't sure which one of the two of them had actually said the expletive, both of them so very still about two feet away from each other in the hall. Shawn forced a deep breath in through his nose and out of his mouth before he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I suddenly wish I had traveled with checked baggage," he articulated through gritted teeth.

And if the next words out of Joshua Matthews' mouth contained the phrase 'am I cooler than you yet,' Shawn just may have to call his best friend and apologize for the justifiable homicide of his younger brother.

Josh seemed to weigh his options, readjusting his messenger bag over his shoulder. "That thought crossed my mind." He admitted with the exact same tone. "You're not supposed to be back until Tuesday."

He narrowed his eyes, scanning the rest of the hallway and sparing a brief thought as to whether or not Josh had snuck out, or if he would have to face Maya when he entered the apartment. "Something tells me you're not going to be the last person to mention that."

"Look, Shawn–"

Shawn cut the younger man off with a wave of his occupied hand. "You have a class to get to." He left the fact that if he stayed to actually address the thoughts running through Shawn's head, Josh may not be making the rest of his courses.

Ever.

Josh nodded, sidestepping the older man and opting for the stairs rather than wait for the elevator to return to the floor.

Grabbing the handle of his carry-on, Shawn reached for the spare key, with neither the mood nor the desire to fish his keys back out of his pocket again. "She's not your kid," he told himself on his way to the door. "She's a grown adult," the third time he repeated the first phrase, he added the second. "It's entirely possible that this was innocent."

The self-talk only lasted until the entryway, when he caught a glimpse of the young adult that would never be his daughter, sitting on the island kicking her feet back and forth as she waited for more coffee to brew. She had a cereal bowl in one hand, spoon in the other, a John Adams High School Athletic Dept. hoodie over a pair of running shorts.

She wasn't facing his direction. In all actuality, Shawn would have almost guessed that Maya had had her headphones in if it weren't for the fact that her phone was in the kitchen dock, Daughtry wafting around the room.

"I actually used to own one of those."

It wasn't the introduction that he was hoping for, even if he did get a thrill out of Maya's startled spasm. He was also impressed that the only thing she flung across the room was her spoon. "You're not supposed to be back until Tuesday."

Shawn rolled his carry-on up to the counter, allowing the handle to telescope itself back into the suitcase. "I just had this conversation," his head shook slightly and he watched as Maya slid off the countertop to retrieve her silverware.

"Happens to me a lot too," Maya tried to reacclimate herself, her eyes wide. She looked from the front door to Shawn, and back again. If she was trying to do the math on how long it should have taken Josh to leave versus how long Shawn had been in the building, she would be dismayed to learn that the odds weren't in her favor. "How was your trip?"

He'd known the kid in front of him for far too long to think that her nonchalance was natural. When the coffee pot stopped sputtering she hopped off the counter and moved toward it, reaching up for a second mug to accompany hers.

"Yeah, this isn't gonna work for me." It was said so quickly that Maya dropped both mugs on the counter and turned to actually look at him.

Her head tilted to the side, and he'd be damned if she wasn't just as good as he was at her age. "What isn't gonna work for you?"

Shawn couldn't help it, his eyes cut back and forth from her to the front door. "This isn't one of those times when it's smart to play dumb." He decided after a moment.

Tilting her head in the other direction, Maya sucked both lips into her mouth. Whatever she had tried for earlier was now completely gone. "And I'm well past 18, so I could tell you that I hosted an orgy in here last month and you still don't get to yell at me about it."

"It's _my_ apartment," he reminded her. Shawn tried very hard to pretend that she hadn't just made a [semi] valid point. Maya was a good kid, responsible, and while he might be able to subtly steer her into certain decisions, she was past the point where he got too much say in them. It didn't occur to either of them that he wasn't her father. "I'm pretty sure 'no orgies' was one of the first rules laid down when you got your key."

"That depends entirely on whether or not it's annexed with 'no wild parties'." Maya found herself saying, turning back to the counter and her unmade coffee. Had Shawn not gotten home there might have been the possibility of her getting back to sleep for a few more hours before her first class of the day.

There was no way in hell it was going to happen now.

"Maya."

It truly was a marvel at how well he had the patented 'parent voice' down.

"There was no orgy," she conceded.

Shawn ran a hand over his face slowly, briefly cupping his chin. "You're gonna make me ask it, aren't you?"

"Who I sleep with is none of your concern." She had both hands on her coffee mug to keep them steady.

And that was a mental picture that he could have lived without after an eight-hour flight. He'd changed Josh's diapers for crying out loud. "Neither is the Phillie's batting average." Shawn cut back, leaning forward onto the kitchen island. He called up every ounce of his will to keep his poker face intact. "But that doesn't stop me from thinking about it."

"Stay out of it Shawn." Maya stepped back then, deciding that the easiest way to end this conversation was to extradite herself from the situation. There was a sticky note on the fridge that she had to be on campus at nine-thirty for a review session with her study group before her test in Calculus, she might as well get a move on.

He didn't get another word in, not that he knew what should have been said. Maya had made it to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Shawn realized the same time she did that she had left her phone docked in the Bose speaker in the kitchen. He smiled when she cursed, and he moved over to the side of the counter she had been on, reaching for the empty mug and pouring himself a large drink.

If his nap wasn't going to happen, he might as well try to meet the rest of the day head on.

He was sitting at the kitchen island when Maya emerged from her side of the apartment. She blatantly ignored him, sliding her laptop into her Longchamp tote and tucking her wallet in behind the bag that held her charger.

"Stay out of it," she repeated carefully, still not looking at him. Her bag on the counter, Maya deposited her now empty mug in the sink and scratched her scalp. She had pulled her wet hair into a loose braid in order to keep it off of her face, and she was already regretting it. When his mouth opened, she raised a hand. "It's none of your business."

"You've been hiding a relationship with Josh Matthews?" He took a quick sip of his coffee, eyes wide. "How is that none of my business?"

"First of all, it's not a relationship." Maya corrected him shortly, yanking open the fridge and grabbing one of the Tupperware containers of grapes and chopped mixed vegetables. She tossed it into the leather tote with a shake of her head.

"It's not a relationship?" How did Amy and Alan manage to raise five kids? Shawn could barely manage to half-parent one. "You're sleeping with him, but it's not a relationship?" For a split second Shawn blamed Lucas Friar for this. Had the golden boy not allowed Maya to think that this kind of behavior was okay, he wouldn't be in this position now.

"There's no commitment." Did Maya listen to herself when she said things? Did she? "What Josh and I do is fun, a date here or there, a few great nights, but neither one of us gets uptight if someone sneaks out while the other is sleeping." She was in the process of pouring herself a tumbler of coffee when she finally looked up at him. "It's easy."

Briefly, Shawn wondered how exactly someone labeled randomly sleeping with your best friend's uncle counted as 'easy'.

She'd popped the lid on her tumbler and was shouldering her bag when Shawn finally seemed to catch up. "Sex is never just 'easy', Maya." When had his tone started resembling Cory's? God the things that this kid did to him. She didn't seem to be paying attention as she double checked the contents of her bag. "It's intense, it's passionate, life-altering. Sometimes it can be mindless, but it is never 'easy'."

Maya shrugged, "Maybe not the way you do it." She readjusted her cardigan and was out the door without another word.

* * *

Shawn didn't knock. He really had no need to anymore. Since he had taken up semi-permeant residence in New York, his standing invitation had been renewed. He had had to consult his calendar to make sure that Auggie wouldn't be home with his parents that afternoon, as it was Dewy's mom's turn to do the soccer carpool. Shawn had had all day to stew, and he needed a proper freak-out. A ten-year-old would have hampered that greatly.

He practically stomped all the way to the fridge, thankful that Topanga still bought his favorite beer. "Does anyone remember back when my biggest problem with Maya living in my apartment was her not picking up after herself?"

Topanga was trying really hard no to laugh at him. After all, he had gotten a pretty good glimpse at the kid Maya had been long before he'd handed her a key. "Did untidiness get trumped again?"

"Is she sneaking another boy in?" Cory caught the look that crossed Shawn's eyes and sucked in a breath. "That was my _joke guess_!"

" _Oh_ ," Shawn used the neck of the bottle to point at his friend. "It gets worse."

"What could be worse than a boy?" Cory was on the edge of his seat now, completely oblivious to his wife relieving him of his coffee mug and placing a beer of his own in its place.

Topanga's smile seemed to get wider. It really was true what they said about daddy's and daughters. And even though she knew she shouldn't, she dropped herself onto the bench beside her husband. "Which boy?"

"What boy?"

The front door shut with a soft click, and every single bone in Shawn's body tensed.

" _That_ boy!"

The look on Josh's face announced that this day just couldn't get worse. "Me boy?" He gulped.

" _Him_ boy?" Cory's eyes bugged, and Topanga could be glad that he hadn't opened his own beer. "Oh, boy."

Running his hand over his head, Josh groaned. "All I did was walk through the door!" He shouldn't have looked up at Shawn. That was just a bad decision on his part. He certainly shouldn't have shrugged the jacket off to reveal the same shirt that he'd been wearing out of Shawn's apartment. Shawn wasn't sure why, but the fact that he obviously had clothes stashed in Maya's room bothered him just as much as the sex part.

Shawn shook his head. "You've done _much_ more than that." He announced to the room.

It seemed to catch up to Cory all at once, the older Matthews sitting up and shouting across the room. "You're sleeping with Maya!"

Josh didn't bother to deny it. In fact, after he finished hanging his jacket on the peg, he actually nodded. "I am."

Cory's shout turned into a shriek. " _Joshua Gabriel_!"

Topanga just wandered to the fridge and grabbed him a beer. "Before they get started," She wished that she could protect Josh in some way from the two men at the table. It was blatantly apparent that neither of them seemed to remember that once upon a time they were twenty-two-year-old men. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"That had been the plan," Josh swallowed a third of his beer in one gulp.

Even though she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to ask if Maya was going to be making an appearance as well. It was probably better to get- whatever it was that Cory and Shawn needed to get out- before she threw fuel on the fire. "We're having pot roast," she supplied.

Shawn was fairly certain that there was something seriously wrong with his best friend's wife.

"Before you two start," Josh took a breath and another sip of his beer. "Can I just point out that Maya and I are legal adults and that _neither_ of you are our parents."

Cory's betrayed gasp almost drowned out the small noise of anger that Shawn allowed out of his mouth. "Are you sure that's how you want to begin this conversation?" He asked carefully.

Josh just nodded. "There is absolutely nothing you can say to me that I haven't already said to myself."

It seemed like a little sign flashed before Shawn's eyes that read 'challenge accepted'. "Maya says it's not a relationship."

"That is among the words that have been banned when referring to the two of us."

Josh didn't elaborate, and Shawn didn't know if he wanted to ask for clarification. Instead, he moved on. "How long has this been going on?"

"One hundred and twenty-seven days." Josh's face was as blank as he could make it for a conversation such as this. Shawn really wanted to point out the fact that Josh had been counting was all the proof he needed that it was anything but casual. "We've been seeing each other for a little over four months."

Again Cory shrieked. " _I sent you to Italy_!"

If he'd had the energy to keep up with Cory, Shawn probably would have let the younger man go on like that for another half an hour. "Can it Cornelius!"

Cory squeaked scandalously.

Topanga smiled.

When her husband had finally closed his mouth, Topanga leaned forward. "That's a very specific number, Josh." She pointed out carefully.

Josh shrugged, his gaze shifting across the table to a lone fork, eyes blurring. "I didn't think now was the time to be vague." He answered after a moment. Shawn had to give the kid credit. If he were in Josh's position he would not be nearly as calm. The kid in front of him held all of the quiet conviction that Shawn vaguely recalled seeing years before on his brother.

Which meant that Shawn was missing something. Something that Topanga had seemed to pick up on the second Josh had walked through the door.

"Four months," Shawn repeated to himself, counting backward. There were so many things that he wanted to know. So many that he knew for a fact Maya most likely wouldn't tell him. Shawn had no idea where to begin. Cory twitched and it seemed to hit him. "What does Riley think of this?"

"As long as Maya's happy, I don't think Riley would really care." Josh picked up his bottle just to set it back down again. "If she knew."

Another nervous giggle from the man to his right, and Shawn blinked. "Riley doesn't know?"

"I haven't discussed it with her." The youngest Matthews took a quick sip of his beer, shaking the bottle when he realized he was almost out. "And it's not exactly on Maya's list of things to do before finals."

"Does _anyone_ know?" Shawn couldn't stop the disapproval that laced his voice. Before he could truly snap, he pushed himself away from the table, pacing the length of the living area before returning to the kitchen.

Josh covered a flinch with a hand over his face. "You mean other than you three?"

If he hadn't been so focused on staying calm, Shawn might have actually smacked the kid.

"Austin," Josh held up one finger, adding a second to it. "Friar." He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Minkus has figured it out, but he hasn't actually come out and said anything." The last two phalanges on his right hand popped up. "Ali and Christian, but Maya doesn't know they know."

"So you're sneaking out of my apartment first thing in the morning," Shawn clarified, running a hand over his chin. "The bulk of your 'not relationship' is sex, and she's adamant about none of her friends knowing." He slammed an arm into the wall next to the fridge. " When the hell did you become _that_ guy, Josh? And why, of all people, did you choose to become _that_ guy with Maya?"

The younger man locked his jaw. He didn't bother to correct Shawn. After all, all the older man was going on was what he had seen in the hall and the brush off that Maya had most definitely given him. "I don't think you're exactly qualified to comment on what's going on between Maya and me." Josh held Shawn's gaze longer than was entirely comfortable.

The older man didn't blink. "Because I'm not her father?"

A little head shake, and it appeared as if Josh's smile just got smugger. "Because up until eight hours ago, you had no idea 'Maya and me' existed."

Topanga legitimately had to physically keep herself from laughing.

"You little-"

"I'm not _that guy_." He cut Shawn off with a wave of his hand. "And she's not that girl. We're not sleeping around, it's not a booty call at two a.m. and ignoring her every other hour of the day. Hell, we were here for dinner last night!" He waved his hand around the room as if the memory of them playing Little Big Planet with Auggie after they jointly helped him with his homework would somehow appear. "And you can berate me all you want, but you're not gonna make me feel bad about this." He cast a glance past his brother to Topanga, who was watching both him and Shawn with such a look of contemplation.

Shawn drew a blank.

It was apparent from the look on Cory's face that he'd actually tried to stay out of the conversation. His younger brother was sleeping with his daughter's best friend –who had spent enough time in his house to be considered his own- but he had taken a step back and tried to let Shawn handle it. He leaned forward now, taking a long swig of his beer. "You two have been _hiding_ this from almost everyone for four months, Josh." He shook his head to try to make sense of that he was listening to and sighed. "That should tell you something."

"It tells me I'm the second longest relationship that Maya's had in her entire life."

Shawn jumped to point out that Josh had used one –of the apparent many- words that they had evidently banned. He came up short when Topanga raised a hand, not taking her eyes off of Josh.

"Even if she refuses to call it that." His finger twitched on the edge of the bottle's label. "It tells me that I'm man enough to do what she needs me to, to be who she needs me to be, to make her feel confident and secure in at least one aspect of her life." The nail that was tracing the label stilled and Josh brought his thumb to his lips, teeth immediately finding the cuticle. He closed his eyes for a second, and he bit down a little too hard when he realized that he'd most likely said too much. "It tells me that neither one of us needed your approval or your judgment, and that this was one of the many situations that we were trying to avoid by keeping it to ourselves."

Topanga's hands slid across the table, taking the empty bottle from him and giving him an anchor point. Of the three other people in the room, she had been the only one that hadn't tried to keep a running commentary on the situation. Shawn wanted to say that it was because she was a mother.

He realized now that it had more to do with the fact that she knew exactly what a Matthews in love looked like, and she'd most likely seen it coming long before it actually happened.

"She's wrong," Josh slammed his lids over his eyes. It didn't stop Topanga from running her thumb over the back of his hand and finishing her question. "Isn't she? This isn't casual."

"This is whatever Maya needs it to be." Josh's voice was firm. He even managed to keep his eyes steady when they opened and caught Shawn's. He nodded to himself.

One long, deep breath and Cory traced a water stain on the table with one hand while he downed the rest of his beer with the other. Shawn couldn't even find it in him to smile when his best friend dropped the bottle to the table and puffed out his cheeks. " _Oh boy_."

"Does Maya know?" Topanga caught Josh's gaze again, her thumb still smoothing circles into his hand.

Shawn felt another punch to the gut when Josh's head gave the smallest shake. This was certainly not the way he imagined this conversation going. Not that he imagined having to have this conversation at all.

"Is this the part where you tell me that if I hurt her, you'll hurt me?"

Every fiber of his being wanted to laugh. Not because Josh had asked the question. Considering the way that he had stormed in here, and the righteous anger he'd held for the bulk of the day, it was probably a pretty safe bet that there was going to be a threat in there somewhere.

It was the fact that calm had once again settled over Josh's features. He wasn't as cocky as he had been before his admission; he seemed relieved that this was one less secret that he had to carry.

"No." Shawn took a deep breath and leveled his gaze on the younger man. His best friend shifted in his seat before pushing away from the table. Shawn didn't watch him leave the room. "Because regardless of the fantasy world we've built here, I'm not her father." He set his beer down on the table and crossed his arm across his chest. "I also have the added benefit of having known you for your entire life, kid." The smile he shared now was wry. "I'm actually more worried she's gonna hurt you."

Josh tapped a finger to the table for a second, running the words through his mind. Finally, he smiled back, albeit sadly. "It'll be worth it."

* * *

Maya showed up exactly fifteen minutes before dinner, Auggie somehow miraculously in tow. She threw out a greeting, announcing that she took the liberty of grabbing the kid from Dewey's on her way from the station. She helped herself to the coffee that Topanga had started when the serious talk was over and flopped down on the couch beside Cory to critique the episode of Antique Roadshow his best friend was enjoying.

And Shawn watched.

They didn't touch. That was the first thing Shawn noted. Josh and Maya shifted around each other in one of the least awkward dances that he'd seen in a good long time as they discussed lectures and assignments.

Maya grabbed him another beer when she refilled her mug without being prompted, and Josh automatically gave her the baby carrots off out of his scoopful of veggies. And Topanga just smiled when Auggie announced that Maya and Riley had inspired him to start learning Italian and Josh pointed out that Maya was actually better at it than the brunette was –just don't tell her he said that.

After that was time for Auggie's homework.

Whereas the last time Shawn was there, Topanga handled questions from Math and Science, and Cory explained the basics of Ancient Rome, he was treated to a different kind of assistance. Maya had pulled her laptop and text book from her bag, passing a spare notebook to Josh when he realized that he'd left the one he was working out of at work when he'd stopped in for the few hours he'd spent there. She denied him a pen on principle, though, citing that he should have been better prepared.

Shawn took his place on the couch while Cory spread out his papers on the coffee table to be graded. "You're gonna want to see this," Topanga muttered from the chair closest to the door, eyes flicking to the table and back.

"I can never remember," Auggie started, reaching into the center of the table to grab one of Josh's highlighters. "Which one's longitude, and which one's latitude?"

Maya flipped her pencil in her hand, not even looking at the boy. "Which do you think is which?"

Auggie flipped back a page in his notebook, not finding what he was looking for and then turning back to his worksheet. "Latitude goes this way?" He used his pencil as a wand, cutting strips up and down in the air.

Josh didn't even seem to be watching them, but he still offered a noise of disapproval.

"Think of it this way," Maya positioned her own pencil in her hand, parallel to the table. "Latitude makes a ladder." The pencil moved up and down in the air in front of Maya's laptop. She paused so Auggie could repeat it to himself a few times. "Longitude goes around the world long ways." Her pencil changed directions, rotating in an up and down circle."

"The Earth is a sphere," Josh pointed out without looking up. "There is no 'long ways' around it."

Maya rolled her eyes at him, and Shawn was fairly certain the movement under the table was her kicking him in the shin. "Don't listen to your uncle, Aug," she insisted. "He doesn't understand mnemonic devices."

"She's forgetting I'm the one that taught her the secret to binary fraction to decimal conversion." Josh stole a sip of her coffee and Maya flicked him off under the guise of scratching her ear.

"Josh corrected the tour guide in Florence three times while touring the _Cattedrale di Santa Maria_ ," Maya informed the kid to her left softly, her eyes meeting Josh's across the table.

The smile they shared was softer than any that Shawn had noticed up until this moment. "By 'tour guide', Maya means Farkle." Josh corrected, nudging her foot with his under the table. "And ask Blondie how long she stared at The Last Judgement before your sister had to physically remove her from the room."

"At least I didn't map the Colosseum from memory after we toured it." Cory snorted and Maya bounced up on her thighs to look at him. "He used napkins at the restaurant."

"No," Josh's smile widened. This wasn't a contest, per say. Cory's laugh and Topanga's indulgent smile meant that this was something they did often. "You just tripped over a pew staring at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel."

"That's not all I did in the Sistine Chapel," Maya might have thought she was muttering under her breath. Shawn suddenly wished he had never had the ability to hear.

Turning again, he noticed that Auggie was ignoring both of them, continuing with the worksheet that Maya had started him on.

"I'm gonna miss Italy." Josh took a breath and another sip of Maya's coffee with a sigh.

Maya didn't acknowledge the statement, but she smiled anyway. "You don't have anything after your conference call on Wednesday, do you?" She had reached for her phone at some point while Shawn had been considering the two of them. Josh shook his head and pulled up his calendar on his computer. The unspoken 'why' hung in the air. "Austin asked me to go apartment hunting with him." Maya supplied when he still didn't speak.

"Are you wanting to trade?" There didn't seem to be anything after the time he'd blocked off for whatever call Maya had been talking about.

"Torreano's offering me an informal audit slot for his lecture on the economics of the visual arts," Shawn wasn't sure which of the three men in the room had the biggest smile on his face. The more Maya interacted with her faculty advisor, the more the man seemed impressed with her. "I'd really like to sit in."

Josh reached for his phone. "I'll take Aus." He offered dumbly. "You wanna meet us for dinner?"

The blonde closed her eyes for a moment before scrolling through another screen on her phone. "He's got a six o'clock with the realtor in Murray Hill."

It was Josh's turn to think. "The Shakespeare?" He offered even as he glanced at the math worksheet that Auggie was pulling out of his folder. "Remember F.O.I.L." He coached, still not looking at Maya.

"I can be there by six thirty."

Josh's phone buzzed with a text. "Done."

Head nodding, Maya turned back to her own laptop. "You suggested," she threw out with a dazzling smile. "You pay."

Shawn watched as Josh didn't miss a beat. "It's funny how that keeps happening." His tone was playful. His eyes challenging.

Maya just blew him a kiss and grabbed another highlighter, scooting closer to Auggie to help with his graph.

* * *

The kids disappeared shortly after Auggie went to bed. Josh reminded Cory of the Yankees game that they were going to that Friday, and Topanga mentioned the shifts that had been switched in order for Maya to be able to spend the weekend with Riley for Will's birthday. And to the blonde's credit, any disagreement that she and Shawn had had that morning seemed to be forgotten when she popped up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Don't wait up." Maya threw out as she reached for her jacket.

On the other side of the chair, Josh tried no to look guilty.

"She's an adult," he reminded himself after he had helped unload the dishwasher and dropped back onto the couch. "I don't get to make these decisions for her."

An arm appeared from over the back of the couch, and Shawn took the offered beer.

"You get bonus points for coming to that conclusion." Glancing over his shoulder, Shawn laughed at the cookie that Topanga was holding out for him as well. She propped herself up on her elbows and dropped her chin to his shoulder. "And she could do worse than Josh."

For a split second, Shawn was reminded of the look on Topanga's face when the younger Matthews brother was at her kitchen table. "How long have you known?"

"Honestly," Topanga pushed herself off and circled the couch. "I didn't." Shawn's brows rose and she shook her head. "Not officially." She dropped down into the chair closest to the front door and smiled. "They've always had this 'thing'." Her voice caught as she groped for the words. "It just seemed to evolve since finals."

He thought back to December. Shawn vaguely remembered nights when he assumed Maya was staying in the dorms during his month off. Then all of the kids had come home and it was a shell game where Maya was when, and who she was with.

"It didn't make sense until we were at lunch before their trip," Topanga admitted, taking a long sip of her own bottle.

Shawn didn't want to ask. Really he didn't. But the afternoon sped through his mind, from the second Maya arrived with Josh and Lucas to the moment when Minkus had shut the SUV door for Riley. Nothing stood out; at least not in the way Topanga seemed to think it did.

Then there was a shout from the office, and suddenly it clicked.

 _Josh is not a slave to his hormones._

"Maya and the lemonade." He sputtered, clearly picturing the way the blonde had coughed and how it took both her and Katy to keep her from falling out of her seat.

"It didn't strike you as odd that she and Lucas Friar were the _only_ ones that thought that statement was funny?"

He honestly hadn't thought about it. Maya had always been the one to crack jokes at inopportune times; the one that used Cory's overenthusiasm against him. He had honestly just thought it was par for the course. Then again, he hadn't even thought to look at Josh. He was too busy focusing on Cory's speech and Maya and Katy.

Another thing occurred to Shawn at the thought of Maya's mother.

It was staunched the second Cory wandered into the room. "No, I don't think I'm overreacting!" His best friend was muttering over and over again.

There was a grumble on the other end of the phone and Shawn hid his laugh behind a cough. Alan Matthews put up with a lot from his children. Shawn just hoped that the older Matthews was smart enough not to allow his wife on the phone with their son.

A feminine voice echoed from Cory's phone and Shawn just shook his head.

"Did he tell you?" For what Shawn assumed was the second time in the last half hour, Cory launched into the torrid affair of Josh and Maya. It was amazing that he had managed to bite his tongue for the entirety of the time that Maya herself had been in the house. Or maybe Cory just realized that had he called her out on it, Maya would have made dinner as uncomfortable as she possibly could in retaliation. There was a long scoff. "I _know_!"

Topanga just sighed. "Back into the office." She announced coolly. "Auggie is trying to sleep directly above you."

Riley's room is directly above them. It was a fact of architecture that everyone in that house was fully aware of. But Cory began nodding emphatically and rambling on to his mother that his baby brother –who was an adult- has started a casual relationship with his daughter's best friend –who was also an adult- without telling anyone. He didn't have time to consider whether or not his wife's order was factually true.

So Cory backpedaled into the hallway and Shawn couldn't hold his laughter in any longer.

"Personally," Shawn noted when the room quieted again. He ran the thought back through his head before taking another swig of beer. "I blame Friar for this shit."

Topanga peered at him over the neck of her bottle. " _Lucas_ is to blame for _Josh_ and _Maya_ sleeping together?"

And okay, Shawn could see where her skepticism in that sentence had merit.

"It all started with him." There was that overindulgent smile again. The one that said that he had about a minute and a half to clarify that sentence before she unloaded lawyer logic all over his argument. "If they hadn't gotten into –whatever the fuck you want to call her senior year- it's highly likely that she and Josh wouldn't currently be in the relationship that apparently is not."

"It's highly likely that if Lucas hadn't helped her explore her emotions and express herself however she needed to that she would currently be incredibly emotionally stunted and sleeping her way through college instead of engaging in a positive relationship." Topanga physically pointed out, scooting back in the chair and propping her feet up on the coffee table. "I love Maya _dearly_ , but her view on men has not always been the healthiest thing on the planet." A quick swig of her beer, and a pause to try to gage how far in his conversation Cory had gotten and Topanga's head cocked to the side again.

Shawn pulled a breath in through his nose. "Do you have an answer for everything?"

His best friend barked something from the office, and she shook her head. "You've met my family, right?" They shared a smile. "I happen to be the keeper of the sanity in this household."

Shawn found he couldn't exactly argue with that. So instead he leaned back and mimicked her position. "All right Mrs. Cory." He decided with a smile. "I've got a logic question for you." Topanga's brow rose. "Josh said that Maya hasn't told Riley." It wasn't the exact phrasing that the youngest Matthews sibling had used, but it was damn close. "Maya and Riley are joined at the hip. I'm willing to bet the number of secrets that they have from each other could fit on one hand." He neglected to mention that was a generous assumption. If Shawn were to actually make a bet, he would guess that the only secret between the two of them was that Maya and Josh were seeing each other. "Why would Maya keep this one?"

The look that crossed her features was one that Shawn knew well. It was the one that Topanga used to pull when Shawn would talk to her about things that would cause a Cory overreaction. It was the face that would offer beer and advice at three in the morning when Shawn wasn't sure if his best friend was the one he needed. Topanga knew the answer to what he'd asked. But she wasn't about to just give it to him.

"You should probably ask Maya that question." She offered with another sip of her beer. " _Or_ –if you think you can manage without breaking something- you could try to broach it with Josh." They shared a look that rang with their conversation with Josh earlier. More importantly, the way Shawn didn't seem to be paying attention to Josh's answers so much as reacting to them.

"And why would Josh agree to that?" The question popped out before Shawn could think to recall it.

"He loves her," Topanga said softly. "He may not know it yet, and if he does, he has no idea what to do with it, but Josh would most likely agree to anything to keep her in his life." She gave him a wry smile. "Not that either one of us knows what _that_ feels like."

Shawn drained his bottle. "Point made, counselor."

There was silence for another few minutes, where both of them listened as Cory ranted and raved to his mother about his brother's seemingly poor life choices.

Shawn hadn't been expecting the snort that came from the other side of the room. He glanced up sharply at the sound, just in time to see Topanga attempt to physically hold in the next one. "What?" He inquired after she failed on her third effort.

"This never even made the top ten in the list of conversations I ever thought you and I would have in our lifetime." She snorted again, leaning forward just enough to drop the bottle onto the floor to keep from spilling it.

"For the record," it was Shawn's turn to snort. "I don't think either one of us actually thought that your husband's little brother was going to fall for your daughter's best friend." Neither one of them could hold in their laughter now. It was entirely possible that they had hit the portion of the emotionally charged day where they were both punch drunk. Then their eyes met. "I'll give you all of the cash in my wallet right now if you repeat that sentence to Cory."

He could honestly say that he knew Topanga long enough to understand that she was tempted.

Then the phone on the coffee table buzzed, and Shawn bit back his curse when Josh's picture flashed on the screen.

"I'm trying very hard not to be pissed at the kid." He said even as he was reaching for his phone. Thumbing his phone open revealed a picture of the blonde curled up in the center of Josh's bed surrounded by textbooks, notepads, and her laptop. The message under it simply read, 'I'm not waking her up to send her home'. He wasn't going to admit that Josh was just too much Matthews for Shawn to be successful when it came to blaming him for the situation.

Even though she couldn't see the message, Shawn's smile was in full view. She didn't offer him a response, choosing instead to reaching down to grab her beer bottle again and taking another long sip.

Down the hall, Cory ranted away.


	37. Part XIX: Breathing Underwater

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 8,113  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Three days into a week-long run of her most recent show in Atlanta, Katy Hart is injured in a set accident.

One of the safeguards failed when a cable holding up one of the larger pieces of scenery snapped without warning during rehearsal and Katy and one of her fellow actors were hit when it dropped and a partition collapsed.

She had yet to regain consciousness when the hospital called Maya –who had been listed as next of kin and medical proxy since she turned eighteen- and the man on the other end of the phone failed to be as reassuring as possible while trying to go over the injury, treatment, and possible side effects.

It's only by chance that Maya was standing in the middle of the Matthews' living room when she got the call. Josh shuddered to think of what would have happened if she hadn't left her tablet there the night before and needed to retrieve it before a class. He also thanked every available higher power that she was physically close enough to Topanga for his sister-in-law to intercept the phone when Maya's brain shuts down, muttering only that the call was about her mom before collapsing onto the couch.

Cory had his own cell out before Topanga can get more than 'is Katy okay' out, and he steps up to his wife while she scribbles random pieces of information onto a message pad so she doesn't have to keep interrupting the poor man on the phone.

Josh assumed that he's calling Shawn, who is in California for the week. All conversations on the other side of the room are hushed, with both Matthews casting glances to the blonde every so often. She had made it as far as his lap, and Josh tuned them out as he ghosted his lips across her temple and murmured nonsense into her ear.

He didn't want to think about the fact that this was the first time, in the entire time he's known her, that Maya Hart has ever ceased to function.

And then Topanga is standing in front of them, holding out Maya's phone. "He says she's stable." She manages to get out as she immediately begins rifling through her wallet for cash when Josh takes the phone from her.

He nods and pockets the blonde's phone. "That's good." He manages.

Topanga didn't even bother to count the bills that she handed over. "We'll have tickets for you two before you get to the airport." Josh doesn't ask her how or why they came to the conclusion that he was going too. Not that he was opposed to the idea. But between the three of them in the room, he wasn't the most experienced in this arena. There was a whimper from his lap, and suddenly Josh didn't have anywhere else he wanted to be. "I'll call Riley and see if she can clear her schedule and get on a plane."

Josh has Maya to her feet before he actually thinks about it. Her school satchel is by the chair, purse on top of it, and his own bag is only a few feet away from that. With one arm around Maya, Josh managed to scoop all three up and propel her to the door.

Cory's off the phone before he hits the door, and there's a second delay as Josh wondered what would cause the sharpness of his brother calling his name before a metal card holder is being tossed across the expanse between them. "It's the emergency card," Cory informed him. Josh doesn't ask whether it's the one that their parents made sure each kid had, or one of Cory's own. He didn't even wonder why it was that Cory would be giving him the former seeing as though he had one with his own name on it in his wallet. "Maya can use Shawn's card for anything she needs between here and there." Maya's eyes flickered in recognition to her name, but not much else. "And once you get settled, go ahead and grab yourselves a few changes of clothes."

Josh dropped the holder into one of the bags –he'd find it later- smiled at his family, and moved Maya out of the building to hail a cab.

* * *

Never once does Josh ask Maya if she's okay. Right now her main focus is on breathing, and Josh isn't about to force her to question that. Instead, he instructed the cabbie to LaGuardia, and then focused on the list of things that would need to be settled in order for him and Maya to make impromptu trips out of town.

He texted Austin first. Katy was in an accident and he was taking Maya to Atlanta. Even though his best friend was in a lecture, the response was pretty quick. Austin told him to handle what he needed to, and to email him anything that needed to be printed out –or to tell him where to find the physical drafts- and he'd take care of the rest. Next was the intern administrator at S.O.D. Robert Miller was extremely concerned when Josh told him that there was a family emergency, but once Josh assured him that it wasn't him and that he had his laptop and the draft notes and could work from the hospital- the conversation ended with a very quick 'please note your hours so we can still give you credit'. His last call was to Professor Ritter's voicemail, informing him that he wouldn't be able to make their meeting the next day, and asking for assistance getting in touch with the T.A.'s that he would need to ensure that his work wasn't compromised.

Josh received the emails with their flight information just as the cab was pulling into the Terminal A drop off station. Maya had managed enough frame of mind to grab a hold of her purse and school bag while Josh offered way too much money to the cab driver. "You're gonna need your ID, Gorgeous." He prodded her gently. Maya dutifully dug through her purse for her wallet as Josh took a screenshot of her boarding pass and texted it to her.

She followed him through the airport without so much as a sound, managing a smile and a soft nod when the TSA agent checking her credentials asked if she was all right. Maya even managed to make it through the scanners, kicking her ballet flats off of her feet and setting her laptop and charger in a bin on its own. She missed the first time he called her name, though when they had made it down the escalator and was in the process of moving past the various vendors on the way to the gate, Josh tapped two fingers against her wrist the second time, watching her blink before glancing up at him.

"Do you remember what the last thing you ate today was?" He asked gently.

Maya's eyes closed as she tried to think. "I stole some of Cory's apple." Her head shook as if she wasn't entirely sure of when that was and then frowned. "And A shared his smoothie with me."

"That was yesterday." Maya had actually stayed in the dorms the night before. Josh supposed there was something to be said about how Maya just instinctively thought of staying with him when she couldn't remember. "If you could have anything to eat right now, what would it be?"

Her eyes closed again, and Josh prayed that whatever she mentioned could be found in their terminal. "Teriyaki." She spoke slowly as if she was questioning whether or not it was obtainable.

Over the top of her head, Josh smiled at the older woman manning the counter at Au Bon Pain. "Do you want that in a bowl, or on a sandwich?"

"Bowl."

"Yes ma'am." He placed a hand on the small of her back to steer her over to the counter, his smile widening as he placed their orders.

It only took a few minutes for them to get their food. Another handful of moments for Josh to steer them to the gate and make sure that they had the proper documentation.

He didn't hear her the first time she spoke up. Josh was too busy texting Lia about what had happened and asking for her help making sure that Maya didn't fall behind. The T.A. was all kinds of supportive, though, promising that if Josh could get her Maya's class schedule –and something from the hospital when they got there- that she would take care of everything and make sure lecture audio and notes were uploaded to the communal Dropbox for her. He only noticed that she was mumbling when he switched over to text Cory about when they should be expecting Riley and whether or not anyone had thought about a hotel.

"I didn't ask him how she was," Maya said a third time, dropping her plastic fork into her bowl and gazing out the oversized window. "What kind of daughter am I? I didn't even ask him how she was."

As much as he wished he did, Josh had no platitudes for Maya. Then again, he thought as he lifted her leg off of the arm of the chair and swung it in his direction, pulling both of them into his lap now, he didn't need one. "You're a daughter who loves her mother." He kissed her forehead, the scent of teriyaki masking her usual spice. "You're a daughter that is terrified of losing her mother." She didn't look nearly as sheepish at that comment, and Josh couldn't resist dropping another kiss to her temple. "And I'm pretty sure that there was some part of your brain that knew that if there was ever a good place for you to break down, it was in my brother's living room."

Dropping her bowl on top of her bag, Maya shifted on her own, wrapping both arms around Josh's shoulders. "You were there too." She admitted carefully.

Josh tried to take the sentence at face value. Maya knew that she would be okay because she was surrounded by people that would help and take care of her. But there was that little part of him that rejoiced at her admitting that she felt safe enough with him that she could check out for a while and know that he would still be there.

The gate attendant interrupted his train of thought with the announcement that they were to start boarding soon.

"I would be right here even if I wasn't." He assured her, reaching over her shoulder to drop his trash in the can behind her before he started to collect their things.

* * *

Landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport brought on its own set of entertaining issues. The first had been the fact that Josh hadn't thought about renting a car when they were in the air, or any other form of ground transportation if he was being honest with himself. He'd also forgotten all about his question to Cory on whether they had a hotel room or not.

Instead of focusing on what information they didn't have –while he waited for his phone to power back on and connect to the network- Josh concentrated on the immediate. He stopped Maya in front of the Starbucks on their way out of the terminal, ordering himself a double shot macchiato, and not even paying attention to whatever it was she decided to get. He also grabbed them each a panini and a few pieces of pound cake to nibble on.

It suddenly seemed to click in Maya's mind that she was now twelve hundred miles from home around the time that they made it onto the people mover bound for ground transportation. "I had a meeting with Lia today to go over the course schedule I need to have for the next semester." She announced after swearing, immediately patting her pockets to see if she could find her phone.

"No, you don't." Josh watched her freeze. When her eyes turned weary, Josh smiled down at her. "I messaged her back at LaGuardia," her entire body shrunk again. "The only thing she needs is your schedule so we can make sure that you don't get too far behind."

"It's kinda creepy that you're friends with my faculty advisor's T.A." Maya seemed to decide, finally locating her phone in her purse and powering it on so she could open her school app for the information Lia needed.

Josh shrugged. "Would it help at all that she and I were friends before she became your faculty advisor's T.A.?" Lia had actually dated Austin for about a month during their second year.

But he wasn't sure Maya was aware of that fact.

"Not at all." The mover had come to a stop, and he let Maya lead the way out of the train and to the escalator. "You didn't happen to pack and check a bag for me while I wasn't paying attention, did you?"

"That would be a no," He wrapped an arm around her from behind, dropping his chin to her shoulder as the man behind him stepped closer to them. "We were told to pick up a few things when we got settled and checked in on your mom." His phone finally dinged as they stepped off of the escalator. Groping his pocket, Josh allowed Maya to lead them down the arrivals line while he tried to pull up his texts. "We're at the W though." Reading off Topanga's latest message. "But you, Riles, and I will have to share."

"The fu-" Maya came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the line of people.

Josh looked up just in time to slam into her back. "What's wrong?"

Just as it had been a few weeks ago, when they had arrived home from their trip, a very well dressed gentleman was standing just inside the ropes, the word 'MINKUS' printed neatly on a large card.

"Which Minkus is flying to Atlanta?" She asked both Josh and the driver in front of her sardonically.

The uniformed man just smiled. "Miss Hart I presume?" He turned to regard Josh just as Josh's phone vibrated again.

 **Topanga called Stuart for ground transportation while you're there.**

"Totally wasn't expecting this one," Josh admitted aloud to Maya; he laughed, "This is what happens when one of your best friends is Farkle."

"Mr. Minkus said you didn't have any bags." He was asking for clarification, and Josh nodded in affirmation. The man held his arm out for Josh's satchel, his smile becoming less robotic by the second. "And you're checking into the Four Seasons before I'm taking you to Emory-Midtown."

Glancing back down at his phone, Josh shook his head. "My brother said we're at the W."

"Mr. Minkus was very specific." The man –who still hadn't given them his name- slid Maya's school bag onto his forearm and gestured to the exit. "I'm to make sure you have no problems checking into the family suite at the Four Seasons, wait while you settle in, and then take you to the hospital." He paused as if to give them time to catch up. "And while you're at the hospital, I'm to collect any toiletries and amenities that you will be needing before I come back here and collect Miss Matthews."

" _This_ is what happens when one of your best friends is Farkle." Maya corrected him with a roll of her eyes. "And if you're going to be stuck with us for the foreseeable future, what are we supposed to call you?"

The driver seemed to relax a bit, finally satisfied that his passengers wouldn't be giving him any more trouble. "Collins, Miss." He informed her as they exited the sliding door into the night air. "Sutton Collins."

"You ever talk to Lou, Sutton Collins?" Maya shook her head when he moved to put their bags in the trunk of the SUV that he was loading them into.

There was a lapse, which gave Josh enough time to text Topanga about their latest development –not that there was anything his sister-in-law could do about Stuart Minkus' generosity- before the driver's door popped open and Collins slid into the seat. "I know him, Miss." He said pointedly, starting the engine. "But I've never really spoken to him."

"I'll have him call you," she threw out. Her shoulders were taut, and Josh could see that the weariness that she had managed to overcome on the plane was smacking her in the face the closer they got to facing whatever condition they were going to find Katy in. "There are a few things you're gonna need to know if you're driving Riley and me around."

Collins smiled and gave Maya a careful nod. "Yes, Miss Hart."

* * *

The Minkus 'family suite' turned out to be the Presidential Suite of the Four Seasons. Collins had called the hotel on approach, and the Head Concierge met them at the rotunda with their room keys and an unneeded luggage cart. Maya couldn't hold back questioning aloud just how often the Minkus family got to Atlanta when the only thing needed for them to check in was Josh's ID and a signature. The older gentleman escorted them to the nineteenth floor to make sure their keys worked, and to give them one for Riley and left them with a card with his personal number and a promise that he was there to see to whatever they needed personally.

Getting settled, as Collins had called it, consisted of Maya transferring her wallet and phone from her purse to her school satchel, cursing when she realized that she didn't have a phone charger and tossing the unneeded bag into one of the dresser drawers

Josh spent that time compiling a list of toiletries that they would need. He wasn't sure exactly what Riley would be able to pack so he made sure to add three toothbrushes, and three loofahs. He had to consult his phone when listing body wash and shampoos. He'd be perfectly fine with whatever the hotel provided, but he had been privy to a fifteen-minute group rant just a few weeks ago about how it didn't work that way for women.

He had no idea what to do about clothing. It may be something that Josh would have to enlist Riley's help with. There was no way in hell that Josh would be allowed to make wardrobe decisions for Maya, he wouldn't know her sizes even if he could.

When Maya announced that she was ready to go, Josh pocketed his list and cell phone, making sure his wallet was tucked in his laptop bag and followed the blonde back to the elevator bank. She didn't even greet Collins as they loaded back into the SUV to head to the hospital. Maya's hand reached for his, and she just concentrated on breathing.

"What time is Riley expected?" Josh asked as Maya straightened her bag when they were delivered to the hospital.

"Her flight lands at seven forty-five." Collins offered Maya a small smile before handing Josh his card. "If you need anything before then, here's my cell number." He seemed to relax when Maya tucked herself into Josh, hands still clutched together. "I am at your beck and call for as long as you're here."

Josh nodded, tucking the card into his jacket pocket and wrapping the arm Maya was holding around the blonde. "Thanks, Collins." He double checked that he had given the man the shopping list and then bumped Maya in the direction of the double doors.

Signing in took no more time then saying their names, and the volunteer at the check-in desk reminded Maya with a careful smile that only family was allowed in the ICU. After that, it was another elevator ride, this time only up ten floors, and Josh kissed the knuckles on the hand that he still held while Maya steeled herself waiting for the ICU doors to be opened.

They had to have looked lost as they entered the ward. It was the only reason Josh could think of for why a portly nurse poked her head around the corner and smiled at Maya. "Who are you looking for honey?"

"My mom," it killed Josh at how small her voice sounded all of a sudden. Any reassurance she gained seemed to be gone. "Katy Hart."

The nurse smiled again, reaching behind her for a list and then pulling herself to her feet. "She's at the end of the hall, sweetie." Maya didn't move. Nodding gently, the nurse grabbed a chart. "I need to check her vitals anyway."

Josh mouthed a thank you at the woman, moving only when Maya did.

Nails tightened on his wrist as they turned the corner into the room that the woman had disappeared into. He knew that Maya was trying to prepare herself for the worst. Josh simply held her.

It wasn't as bad as Josh had originally thought it was going to be. One of Katy's arms was in a cast, her shoulder seemed to be braced, and she had a large bandage over one side of her head. There was bruising on almost every single uncovered piece of skin aside from her face, but she still looked like Katy.

Beside him, Maya unclenched a fraction of an inch. "Did," she started to say, gesturing to the bed. Whatever she was thinking couldn't seem to make it past her lips.

The nurse raised an eyebrow. "All of her personal effects are in that bag over there," she used the pen she was marking the chart with to point to a bag on the windowsill. Maya forced a smile and released Josh in order to slide over to it.

He watched her rummage through the bag with fervor, pushing aside whatever costume Katy had been wearing at the time of the accident, her shoes, and incidentals. He didn't want to ask her what it was she was looking for. The frantic look on her face told him that any help he would possibly offer her would be rebuked as well. She came up triumphant a moment later, a gold rope chain wrapped around her tiny hand.

Maya forced a deep breath, undoing the clasp and letting one of the three rings that the necklace contained drop into her palm. She slid the ring onto her finger even as she moved toward the bed. "They're safe." She told her mother as she dropped a kiss to Katy's uninjured hand.

Josh didn't even notice the nurse scooting out of the room. He was too busy moving up behind the blonde, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "What are those?"

"Grammy's rings." Maya kissed the two wedding bands that were still on the chain before sliding the chain over her head. "Mom never takes them off. She'd be devastated if something happened to them."

"And what's she gonna say about you stealing them?" He dropped a kiss to the back of her head and smiled down at her hand.

Maya's eyes were focused on Katy's closed ones. "I'll give them back." She insisted quickly. "Grammy always said a Hart should wear them."

"Miss Hart?" There was a cough behind them, and Maya turned so quickly that she forgot that she and Josh were intertwined. He took a step back after she slammed directly into his chest. The man standing in the doorway didn't seem to notice, though. He double checked the chart in his hand and then slipped it back into the holder by the door. "Nurse Johansson said you'd arrived." He took a step forward then, his hand coming up. "I'm Doctor Patrick Gloin, we spoke on the phone." When there was no recognition in Maya's eyes he frowned. "I've been the one monitoring your mother's condition."

When Maya made no move to accept the doctor's handshake, Josh did it for her. "Thank you, Doctor Gloin."

Doctor Gloin studied Josh carefully. "And you are?"

Briefly, the words 'family only' that had been printed in bold white letters on the door of the ICU jumped into Josh's mind. "My fiancé," Maya snapped back to herself just in time to hold her hand out for her own handshake. Josh bit his lip to hide his smile when he realized that the hand she offered him contained her grandmother's engagement ring. "How's my mother?"

The doctor seemed relieved that Maya was a 'down to business' kind of person. "Stable," he began quickly. "We were able to set her wrist, and her shoulder isn't fractured, just incredibly bruised. Both of those should heal cleanly."

There was a lot left unsaid in those three sentences. "And her head injury?" Josh nodded to the bed in what he hoped was an encouraging manner.

"From what I know about the points of impact and what I could see of the bruising on her head and neck," Doctor Gloin moved over to the bed, gesticulating to the bruising without actually touching Katy. "We're looking at possible frontal and temporal lobe trauma."

Maya was back to clutching Josh's arm. He watched as she deflated just a little, her mind immediately going to the worst case scenario. Josh had been forced to take more than his fair share of biology courses. He wasn't as proficient as Will probably was, but his mind was still able to remember that the frontal lobe was responsible for reasoning and temporal for long-term memories. Josh forced a breath through his nose, willing himself to regroup because Maya couldn't afford for him not to. "How bad?" He asked when he realized that Maya wasn't going to.

"Honestly?" A tiny giggle escaped from Maya's lips and Josh tucked her further into his chest. "I can stand here all day theorizing, but until Katy wakes up, we can't know for certain." It was the typical answer; Josh wasn't sure why he had expected anything else. "I can say that her EEG's showed no irregularities, and the MRI's don't have any signs of swelling or hematoma." Another mental list started, and Josh nodded along as he adding things to it so he could text Will for a deconstruction of the medical jargon. "Traumatic brain injuries are tricky, Miss Hart." The doctor was back to addressing Maya, most likely because he hadn't been given Josh's name. "I'd like to say that all signs point to her waking up perfectly fine."

Maya muttered 'you'd like to say' under her breath even as Josh held his hand out again. "Thank you for your time Doctor."

"I'll let you know when we have more."

The doctor cleared the door just as Josh's phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn't let go of Maya, stretching his left arm behind himself to fish his phone out of his right pocket. He stifled his own laugh when he read the message on the lock screen.

 **Bixby [1 minute ago]: Just got Riley's message that she's flying to you. How's Maya?**

He thumbed the phone open, resting his chin on Maya's head. **Your timing is impeccable. What do you know about frontal and temporal lobe injuries?**

"Do you think she's going to be okay?"

Will forgotten, Josh dropped his phone back into his pocket to free up his other arm so it could be wrapped around Maya's shoulder. "I think your mother is a fighter." He whispered into her hair. "And she has a very compelling reason to be okay." Another kiss to her crown and Josh tightened his grip on her. Her body spasmed, somewhere between a hiccup and a sob, and his heart broke for her all over again.

* * *

When Riley announced that she had touched down, and would be there as soon as she drooped her suitcase off at the hotel and changed her shirt –because apparently, only his niece would be able to spill an unopened miniature bottle of soda all over herself on an airplane- Josh convinced Maya to take a walk and wait downstairs for her best friend.

Maya hadn't moved out of the oversized chair that she had curled up in since he'd put her there. For the first hour, he'd been in the chair too, arms wrapped around her when she passed out. He had been questioning Will, updating Lucas and Shawn, and answering emails. Then she'd announced that at least one of them should be productive, and sweet talked a second chair, this one less comfortable, and a small table so Josh could work on what he was missing by this impromptu trip.

And Maya stared at her mother.

"You need some air," he prodded her gently. "You're not leaving the hospital," he tried again after she started to protest. "I will be right here." Another kiss. "I'll text you if _anything_ happens."

Maya was skeptical, but she nodded along with him.

Josh couldn't stop himself from kissing her. "Besides, you need to think up a lie to get Riley in the room." He eyed her hand with a soft smile.

"Just be glad I didn't make you my brother." There was a touch of Maya's normal laughter in her eyes now, and she stole another kiss before moving up to the head of the bed. "I'll be right back, Mom." She whispered.

Josh just hoped that Collins took his time moving from the hotel to the hospital.

Not even ten minutes later, he found himself recanting that wish.

There were half a dozen ways that Katy should have woken up. Josh had seen the movies, and Katy was supposed to be the dramatic type anyway. Which led Josh to realize that this would be the first time he was alone in a room with Maya's mother since they started seeing each other. Not that that was important at this very moment, his mind chastised him. None of the ways involved her hand twitching as she reached for him, a light cough escaping from her lips and Shawn's name in the air.

It took everything Josh had to set his laptop carefully to the side, sliding out of the chair to be closer to her.

"Shawn?"

Her eyes still weren't open all of the way, which was the only reason Josh had for the fact that she seemed to think that he was his brother's best friend. " _Josh_." He corrected lightly, reaching for the nurse call button. "It's Josh Matthews, Ms. Hart."

There was a pause as Katy forced her eyes open and then gave him a solid once over. "Pretty sure you've been told to call me Katy." She grumbled as close to good-naturedly as she could muster. "Is Maya here?"

He nodded, sliding a hand down her uninjured arm. "Riley just got here, so I forced her to take a walk." There was a moment when he just stood there smiling like an idiot. "She's going to be very happy to see you." He said nothing about the fact that none of her memory appeared to be missing at that juncture.

"You take such good care of my baby." Josh wondered if Katy even realized that she'd said it, her smile brightening a fraction of a second before her eyes shot to the door. "She's very lucky to have you." She added with a cough, bracing herself against one of the bed railings. Her face brightened again, smile wide and she focused on the door. " _There's_ my girl."

Maya was across the room in seconds, caught between flinging herself onto the bed with her mother and standing a safe distance away as to not hurt her further. "You're awake!" She paused, not even glancing up at Josh before smacking his stomach. "You were supposed to text me." She snapped without taking her eyes off of her mother.

"Literally _just_ happened." He defended himself, shaking his head and taking a step back in the direction of his niece. "How was your flight?"

"Sticky." Riley gestured to her fresh outfit with a sardonic grin.

Josh dropped a kiss to Riley's crown, pulling her into a hug. "How you made it through eight days in Italy without making a mess, I'll never know."

She nodded, because what was she supposed to say to that, and he followed her gaze to where Maya was perched on the edge of Katy's bed. "Thank you for coming with her." Katy pulled Maya down into a light hug and Riley attempted to discretely wipe her eye.

"I'm pretty sure one of us is obsolete now, though." He attempted to joke.

Riley's arms pulled him in tighter, tucking her head under his chin. "You got her here." She whispered quickly. "And you don't get to tag out quite yet." When his eye caught hers, Riley grinned. "Who's going to take care of me while I'm taking care of her?"

"Speaking of," Josh nodded to the purse nestled under her arm. "Did you tell your parents you're here?" The guilty look that crossed her face was all he needed to see. "I'll call Cory after I tell the nurse she's awake." He chided her, bopping her on the nose with his phone. "And start thinking about what you want for dinner." He announced to the room, Katy's grin getting wider at his tone. "Will said they're going to want to take Katy for tests when she woke up, so I'm going put Collins on standby and we're all going to eat _actual_ food."

He stepped into the hallway, pretending not to catch Maya's laugh as Katy stage whispered 'cute and in charge' to the room.

* * *

Dinner was a Cuban/Caribbean grill that Collins recommended the second Riley announced that they needed fresh air and good food. Josh watched as Maya slowly blossomed again with the reassurance that her mother was conscious and on her way to a clean bill of health. They ate with their fingers, laughed way too hard at Will Facetiming his girlfriend while they sat in the booth, and Josh even allowed Maya to appropriate most of his beer without complaint.

Returning to the hospital made Josh even happier that he had insisted on them taking a break during Katy's tests. No one was surprised that the doctor diagnosed Katy with a concussion. There was no fluid build-up, blood vessel or nerve damage, which kept with the original diagnosis. Doctor Gloin mentioned that he was a bit concerned about Katy's speed of mental processing and concentration –something that Will had mentioned could both be related to the injury itself and the period of time that she had been unconscious- but he was authorized for her to be moved to the floor rather than keep her in ICU.

Her EEG also came back abnormal the second time around, which prompted the doctor to begin a regimen that would help prevent seizures. While the Doctor didn't take too much time to explain it, Nurse Johansson made sure to repeat the word 'precautionary' six or seven times when she came in to hook the medication to Katy's IV. She also went as far as to wait with Maya when they wheeled Katy out of the ward and escorted them to the new floor. Maya was introduced to her mother's new nursing team –and her new on-call doctor- before the nurse slipped away.

Maya fussed over her mother for exactly one hour after that. It was all Katy allowed before she –very slowly- told Maya that visiting hours were over and she needed to return to the hotel.

"I'm gonna be in here for a few days, baby girl," Katy announced sternly as Riley packed Maya back up. "You're not going to spend every single minute of that checking to see if I'm still breathing." When Maya's mouth opened, Katy's eyes narrowed. "Either you go quietly, or I'm gonna ask that lovely gentleman behind you to manhandle you out of here."

No one bothered to point out that Josh would most likely lose a fight between him and Maya. On purpose.

It didn't surprise anyone when Maya crashed five minutes after sitting down on one of the overly plush couches of their suite. She'd been not so pleasantly surprised that Mrs. Bassett-Minkus had ordered a personal shopper to pick outfits up for them –pajamas and underthings included- and insisted on texting Farkle her displeasure –after pulling on the flannel bottoms and tank that had been purchased for her, Riley hastened to add- before she grabbed a bottle of water and joined Riley and her uncle.

Riley waited fifteen extra minutes before asking if Josh would be nice enough to carry Maya into the bedroom. They sat in silence for the next while, Josh finishing his beer on the terrace while answering more work emails while Riley peer edited one of her sorority sister's essay.

"Hey, Josh? Can I ask you a question?"

He hadn't heard Riley open the door, he certainly hadn't noticed her drop herself onto the plush bench beside him.

"You just did." Josh set his laptop aside anyway, closing out the email app on his phone to give Riley his full attention. His niece smiled good-naturedly. Josh had the vague suspicion that that was the same look she gave her father when Cory pulled out the Dad Jokes. "But I suppose you can ask me another one."

His niece waited until she was completely seated, with her feet pulled underneath herself, before breaking the silence again. "Why is Dad mad at Maya?"

Josh had to swallow twice to not spit his sip of beer back out at her. Riley had to be the most perceptive inattentive person that Josh had to have ever met. The logical and one hundred percent truthful answer to her question was on the tip of his tongue. But no matter how many times he thought about it 'Cory's upset that Maya and I are sleeping together' would never be a good sentence to throw out after they day that they had had. "Why do you say your dad's mad at Maya?" He asked instead.

She could have pointed out that Cory had purposefully rearranged his schedule so he could spend time with his daughter without her best friend when Riley came into town to celebrate Will's birthday. She could have said that when they had Sunday brunch before she left, Cory refused to pass her anything she asked for, even though he was seated directly to her left. Riley could have even gone as far as to mention Cory's agitation when Maya stole Josh's jacket before they left for whatever concert in the park that Riley had bought tickets for.

Instead, she just eyed him over the rim of her glass. "Are you about to tell me he's not?" She countered.

"You sure you're not interested in law school?"

"Mom's hopeful," Riley countered gracefully. "But with Will planning on Columbia Med, I can't see myself signing up for four more years away from him." If Maya were still awake there would have been a tirade about putting boyfriends before ambition. Which kind of made both of them glad that she wasn't. Riley squared her shoulders, readjusted her legs and took a long sip of her juice. "Now spill."

"There are," he started with a shake of his head. Josh was never good with generalizations. It was one of the many things that he blamed on his parents. Alan was always big on saying what you mean, and Amy made it a point to force him to reiterate any question that began, or ended, with 'I'm asking for a friend'. "There are some life decisions that Maya has made recently that your dad doesn't agree with." As far as opening statements went, it was one that he thought even Maya wouldn't find fault with.

"Life decisions?" Riley repeated those two words with the air of someone familiar with the art of talking in circles. "Has she been talking about dropping out of school again?"

"No." The word came quick, and Josh bit his tongue. He actually barely remembered the afternoon so many months ago where Maya had declared that dorm assignments, roommates, the coursework and professors, and her lack of concentration for anything not art related made her unfit for school. She had gotten over it fairly quickly, with a tutor recommendation and Lia's help getting Maya into a few of the student-led study sessions. Cory had taken a bit more time to agree that it had just been her frustration showing. "I think Maya's not gonna be satisfied if she walks away from NYU with anything less than a BA if it kills her."

It was Riley's turn to nod along, brain still working on his original statement. "Is she dating someone Dad doesn't like?"

Another long, calming breath. "You know better than anyone that Maya doesn't 'do' dating." It was the closest Josh could get to skirting the question. Although it cemented his resolve that if he managed nothing else that summer, he was going to convince Maya to sit down with her best friend and tell Riley the truth.

"She 'did' Lucas."

It was the sentence that bothered Josh, not the intent behind it. Yes, what Maya and Lucas had in high school could possibly –if you squinted hard enough- be thought of as dating. When the rest of their friends coupled up, so did they. And there had been no shortage of nights where everyone else was occupied that Lucas and Maya did something on their own.

But –and this was where the Matthews Fairytale reared its ugly head- Josh honestly thought that his non-relationship with Maya trumped theirs in a way. There hadn't been the uncertainty with Lucas that she felt with him. She hadn't been as adamant about them not being together. There had been no need for Maya to keep pointing it out. And while some might argue that that was a check in the 'you two aren't together' column, Josh wanted to argue that that meant that Maya wasn't as afraid to lose Lucas as she was him. He also wanted to point out that she had stashed at least three changes of clothes strategically around his room, and her spare phone charger was plugged in on the other side of his bed. Up until college, when Lucas would come home early, Maya had never let the poor boy fully spend the night.

And yes it aggravated the hell out of him that none of these statements were things he could actually say to his niece.

Riley seemed to notice his reluctance, and she nodded as sagely as she could manage at eleven o'clock at night with a topknot and her _yummy sushi_ pajamas. "So this is about sex?"

"Have I ever mentioned how weird this 'tell each other everything' thing that you and Maya have going really is?" He wasn't dodging her question. At least, not on purpose. It was simply the first thing to come out of his mouth when he opened it.

"We don't tell each other _everything_." Riley countered, leaning over to drop her glass onto the table beside her. "Believe it or not, I'm not completely comfortable with conversations about her sex life either." Josh had to admit that it was something he could believe. And now that it was his bed that Maya spent time in, he was kind of grateful that it had been said. "You haven't said I'm wrong."

Josh rubbed his hand over his chin, scratching the scruff near his Adam's apple. "I think your dad finally realized that Maya's anti-relationship stance wasn't just something she thought sounded cool."

The night was silent again, with Riley neither confirming nor denying that she felt the same way about it. "I can't say that I don't agree with him." Another contemplative breath as Riley looked out at the Atlanta skyline. "Is that why you two haven't gotten together yet?"

And there it was again. Why, oh why, couldn't Riley have just remained oblivious? Josh laughed to himself. He knew why, and he loved her for it. But it didn't mean that it didn't frustrate him. "I'm a fantasy." He quoted in the highest pitched giggle he could manage. "You don't go out with a fantasy!"

Riley almost dumped herself onto the patio when the memory hit her. The weekend may have ended with 'the Triangle' realizing that they were all so much better off as friends, but none of them could admit that Maya announcing that in the middle of dinner hadn't been absurd. "God we were dumb kids."

Josh took a swig of his beer, following her line of sight. "What do you mean 'were'?" He countered, scooting away from her wild arm when she swung at him. "And I could have sworn that you have been very vocal about Maya never becoming your aunt."

"Dad would die!" Riley announced quickly, her giggles preventing her from grabbing her glass. "And I'm not _opposed_ to the idea." She decided after a calming moment. "Or at least, not anymore."

"You've studied qualifying statements in Psych 101, right?" Josh threw her a quick glance, just to watch her roll her eyes.

Riley huffed, flicking a fingertip of juice in his direction. "I see how you are with her." She pointed out physically. "And how she is with you." Riley seemed to steady herself, pulling her lip between her teeth with a breath. "You're probably the only reason she's made it through her first year of school."

"The year's not over yet," Josh argued with a smile. "And you're a phone call away; Lucas only went as far as Cornell." There was a small part of Josh's heart that tugged at that statement. Even Lucas had mentioned that Maya hadn't been in as much of a need for him since Christmas Break. "Hell, Will's on the other side of town." Okay, so he was stretching it a bit on that last part. With the exception of Riley coming to town the weekend before, Josh hadn't heard a peep from his niece's boyfriend since they departed JFK.

"I know what I know." Riley's face scrunched in the way that her fathers did sometimes. "You two have become _actual_ friends." That little smile in the corner of Riley's lip was back, and Josh would be damned if it didn't make him smile a bit too. "And I'm happy about it."

"Do you two have any idea what time it is?"

The terrace door smacked closed behind the blonde. Riley smirked up at her best friend even before Maya had finished rubbing her eyes.

A quick glance at his watch gave Josh the ability to smirk as well. "Twelve-sixteen." He informed her as blandly as he could. He turned to Riley. "I thought you plugged her phone in when we put her to bed."

"It is attached to her new charger." And yes, Riley was well aware that that was another thing that had irked Maya about Farkle's parents commandeering the impromptu trip. In addition to the hotel, clothes, and toiletries, they had each been provided with a spare charger and Stuart had had Collins give Josh a portable hotspot for working on school work in the hospital. "Is it not working right?"

Maya kneed Josh's foot out of the way so she could curl up in the space on the couch between the two. "I've had about enough of you Matthews' tonight." She decided with a huff, leaning over to steal Josh's beer."

"Awe," Riley leaned all the way over the arm of her chair to wrap herself around Maya. "Did we wake you?"

The look Maya shot Josh over the top of Riley's head spoke volumes. "It just felt too empty." She admitted without flinching.

Riley read the look that Maya passed to her with ease. "I can fix that." She drained her glass and hopped to her feet, taking the three steps needed to allow her to drop a kiss on the top of Josh's head and wrap her arms around his shoulders. "Good night, Uncle Josh."

Josh stood when she rose, kissing Riley's temple first before leaning over to drop on to Maya's as well. "Good night ladies." He took Riley's glass from her and helped Maya stand. "Don't forget, Katy ordered us to have a full breakfast before we got to the hospital." His tone was stern, his eyes less so.

Maya turned just enough to blow him a kiss as Riley focused on moving back into the suite.

"Sweet dreams," he muttered quietly, nodding back to her.


	38. Part XX: She Holds A Key

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,419  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are freshmen in college, Josh is a senior, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

"Today is supposed to be _my_ day."

He hadn't snuck up on her. There may have been a hitch in Maya's breath and a slight shake when he stepped up behind her, but Josh knew that Maya was well aware of their proximity every time they were in the room together. They were too alike that way.

One eye on the rest of the room, Maya leaned back into his front. "Is it not?" The hand not holding her drink gave the room an elaborate flourish. If Josh didn't know better, he would think that she was mocking him.

The last month had been one of the most hectic of his adult life. He defended his thesis the first week of May. Then he buckled down, signed the lease for his new apartment and crammed for finals the second. The third week was spent buried in books and pamphlets, or with scantrons and essay packets. He didn't see anyone that wasn't at work, his home, or in class. And in the middle of that mess, before grades were even posted and he was still in and out of classrooms and staying up all night revising essays, his family descended.

Amy had spent the entire week in the city, pretending to be as unobtrusive as possible as he finished his classes. She slept in Cory's guest room and spent her days looking at furniture for his new apartment and coordinating graduation parties with Topanga, Austin's mother, and Chris and Allie's parents. It was also Amy who decided that the boys needed to get a jump on their packing, organizing the collection of boxes and starting in on the apartment. This was probably the only time that Josh had been glad that his brother couldn't keep his mouth shut. Amy hardly batted an eye when she discovered Maya's stash of beauty products under his sink or the few articles of her clothing in his closet.

His father had arrived midweek post-finals. He brought with him dinner invitations and Josh's older sister, Morgan.

There simply was no peace after that.

And very little time for himself.

It didn't need to be said that he hadn't had much time for Maya as well. She'd returned from Atlanta with a pile of work that she needed to catch up on, a mother to take care of, and Shawn, who was still trying to wrap his head around her perceived lack of love life. Admittedly the first two were easier to deal with than the last.

Josh was pretty certain that if Maya hadn't been trying to avoid her roommate –and Shawn- by spending the nights she wasn't with her mother curled up on his couch studying for her own finals, he probably wouldn't have seen much of her before graduation.

His left hand ghosted her hip, using his thumb to apply pressure to the point just to the left of the base of her spine. "Well, you've had my attention all day."

Another smile, this one directed across the room to where Austin was sneaking a shot with Christian while Christian's father pretended he wasn't paying attention. "I haven't been with you _all day_." She corrected him without turning.

"You and Riley made 'Felicitations on Finishing your Matriculation' signs." Tapping his fingers against her hip again, Josh pointed to where Riley had propped the signs up against the wall. "I knew where you were the second I entered the stadium."

That wasn't to say that it wasn't pretty easy to find them. Due to the fact that there were over seven thousand graduates of the class of 2020 at NYU, the university's 188th Commencement Ceremony took place at Yankees Stadium. The graduates and faculty took over the Field Seating while their friends and family crowded into the main and terrace seating. Underclassmen took over the Grandstand, hosting their own graduation parties.

Thanks in no small part to Topanga making partner, the Matthews clan –along with Austin's mother, grandparents, and two younger sisters- got to watch from the comfort of her firm's luxury suite. He hadn't seen any of his family since breakfast that morning, and even then, it was only his parents and Morgan, but Riley had been very easy to find in the box's window, holding her bright pink sign in front of her peach flared dress and standing between Will and his 'summer suit' and Maya.

Maya, who had surprised him.

He knew the family was dressing up. It was almost a requirement to be allowed into the stadium. His sister had also narrowly escaped a lecture on proper attire when she admitted that she packed light and only had one sleeveless maxi dress with her at dinner when she arrived. It didn't stop his heart from jumping when he saw Maya leaning against the glass with her own sign, in a variated yellow to green sleeveless cocktail dress and a pair of white heels that she could probably kill someone in. Despite the sign in her hand –a very colorful '#UncleBoingFinishesCollege #AchievementUnlocked #Adulting' in her brilliant flowy script- she wasn't paying the field the least bit of attention during the President's Address. Instead, she and Morgan were sporting matching champagne flutes that most likely contained mimosas and Josh could see them skirting on the edge of his mother's patience by talking through the ceremony.

She rolled her eyes. Josh's lip quirked. "There's only one I in 'achievement'."

"I'm an art major." Maya shrugged him off.

"I'm pretty sure that Ma was going to murder you and Morgan." His sister was on the other side of the room now, tucked in a corner on her phone. There had been a bus accident the day after she had left Portland, and with her on the other side of the country, the hospital was short-staffed to handle the emergency.

Her flippant attitude was countermanded a bit by the smile across her lips. "Amy's all talk." She decided as she took another sip of her grenadine and coke. It may have been an open bar, but both Riley and Shawn had begged Maya to be on her best behavior. "And I happen to be sleeping with her favorite son. That gives me a free pass."

"I'm not so sure I'm her favorite anymore," Josh chuckled against her ear, nodding to where Amy had advanced on Morgan in the corner. His sister rolled her eyes and waved off a plate of veggies as she continued her conversation on the phone. "She's also talking about vacating Cory's and spending the next two weeks on an air mattress in my new apartment to help me get settled in while I start work."

Maya's eyes widened a fraction of a second, her smile never leaving her face. "Riley's back in town anyway." She tried to shrug off.

"Moesha!" On the other side of the room, Eric's hands were outstretched, and he gestured to Maya with a smile.

All thoughts of his mother and niece forbidding privacy for the next few weeks fled as Josh watched her smile widen, nose scrunching slightly. "Eggnog!" She shouted back, skipping across the room to wrap him in a hug.

"That's quite a girl you've got there." Josh forced himself not to jump when his father seemed to appear from nowhere. He handed him a bottle as he used his to point across the room to where Maya was twirled next to Eric before he physically inserted her into a conversation with Shawn's brother and his wife.

"We're not together." Josh attempted for casual. The grin on Alan's lips as he took another sip of his drink told him that he'd failed.

Alan was still nice enough to play along. "Oh, I know." Maya had now physically put herself between Austin and one of their friends, announcing that their argument was boring and Josh's roommate was now contractually obligated to dance with her. "I just wondered if it was possible for you to say that in a tone I'd actually believe."

"You're as bad as Ma." Josh couldn't deny the smile a second time.

Alan just shook his head. "There's a reason you're the youngest."

"You mean, other than the fact that I was born last?" Their shoulders bumped, and Josh grinned up at his father. "Surprise."

"I had to put up with your mother and Cory ranting about this for the last month and a half," Alan reminded his youngest. "You should be nicer to me." He nodded over to the corner where his mother had been caught in a conversation with Austin's grandmother, keeping one eye firmly on the corner that Morgan had retreated to. "You also owe your sister-in-law a thank you for convincing your mother not to inform Morgan of all this."

He wasn't sure where Maya had gotten the phrase she muttered every now and again about God and small favors, but Josh figured it applied right about now. Topanga was a saint. In more ways than one. As much as he would love to have his older sister weigh in on this, there was no way Maya was ready for the full-frontal assault that would be Morgan Matthews Howell

Josh wished that all conversations with his family were as easy as those with his father.

"Noted," Josh caught Topanga's eye as she gave the buffet table a scrutinizing eye. She nodded when he did. "You planning on staying when Ma does?"

"As long as I've got working internet, I can afford to stay for a little while." Josh could now add that to the long list of sentences that he never thought he'd hear come from his father's mouth. The store had done so well over the years that Alan had been able to add a second. Both of them had excellent managers, so all he would need to do is check emails, check the till totals, pay the bills, and handle any big customer issues while he was away. "Your mother apparently has big plans for your move."

"I'm starting to believe it's less blessing and more curse that this family seems to insist on importing strong women." Laughter cut off his last word, and both men were drawn to the sight of Maya shoving an entire cupcake into her mouth as she dodged Eric by skirting another table. While his older brother was focused on the blonde, Riley relieved the plate he had passed off of the second cupcake, taking a dainty bite with one eye on her the spectacle.

"So how does this work, exactly?"

Alan's voice was far more casual than the subject matter led him to believe that it should be. Eric had caught up to Maya, slinging her over his shoulder –keeping one arm against her knee to make sure her skirt stayed down- and forcing her back to the dessert table so she could pick a suitable replacement cupcake for him to atone for her crime.

He was ashamed to admit that it took him a good minute to realize that his father had returned to the discussion of him and Maya. What Josh wouldn't give for a full night's sleep?

When he didn't respond, Alan nodded to the other side of the room. "Riley's home for the summer," he continued. "And those two have always been joined at the hip." In complete disregard of the chastisement that she had just received, Maya stole a cookie off of Will's plate when he passed. He knew his smile was huge. And it had everything to do with the fact that the last time Josh saw that look in Maya's eyes, she was crawling over him on the couch demanding they both take a well-deserved study break. "Are you two just going to hit pause and pick back up when Riley heads back to New Haven?"

"We managed well enough during Christmas Break." Admittedly that sentence came without Josh actually thinking about it. He also hadn't been much of a facilitator during that period of time. He pretty much just followed Maya's lead. It also served as a reminder that this time next week, he and Austin would no longer be sharing an apartment. That was going to take some getting used to. "Italy didn't suck either." That statement earned him another shoulder bump from his dad. Josh had no idea what his brother had told him, but something hinted at it not being remotely close to what actually happened. "And Riley's got that week in Tahoe coming up, Maya's gonna be headed upstate for her weekend with Katy." He also officially started work the Monday after they moved him into his new place. "We'll manage."

"The last time I saw this much determination on one of my boys, your brother was making an argument for hiding your sister-in-law in his bedroom when she ran away." It was said absently. Josh wondered it Alan even realized that he'd said it.

"That's not entirely true." He wasn't sure when his brother appeared, leaning against the pillar with both shoulders. Eric finished off his unmolested cupcake and pointed at their father with the hand that held the wrapper. "Do you remember the PowerPoint presentation this one came up with for why he should be allowed to knock the wall out and appropriate Morgan's room when she graduated?"

Oh, the things from his childhood that Josh wished his family would forget. "He even offered your mother a bigger closet." Alan's smile was back full force now. On the other side of the room, Amy smiled and waved at her husband. "Speaking of," Alan dropped his empty bottle on the table closest to them.

"You have fun, Dad!" Eric called after him. "My baby brother just graduated from college." There was a melancholy tone to Eric's voice that Josh didn't care for. Probably because Eric had always been the bright spot of the Matthews kids. "God, I feel old."

"You are old." Josh dodged Eric's arm, sidestepping the pillar. "Could be worse, though." He nodded over to where Cory was enthralled with a conversation with Riley and Farkle. "You could have an eighteen-year-old daughter of your own in college."

Eric nodded with a smile. "Cory's always been older than me anyway." Logistically the sentence was absolutely absurd, but Eric seemed to make it work.

In front of them, Maya lured Morgan onto the makeshift dance floor as Austin plugged his phone into the speaker jack. Both men contemplated the scene in front of them for a little longer than was necessary before Eric clasped his brother's shoulder.

"Are you gonna tell me about that?" He asked, the light-hearted tone returning to his voice.

Josh officially wanted to throw his brother out of the nearest window. "Cory got to you too?"

Eric's brow rose. "I have eyes, bro." He followed Josh's gaze to the floor again. Riley had pulled Will to the floor, and Austin was twirling Maya around just to see her skirt flare. "And I've never seen that look in yours before."

Josh drained his beer, rolling the bottle between his palms. "That's," he took a breath. " _Complicated_."

"That's easy." His brother laughed, nodding when Maya took notice. " _She's_ complicated." Eric turned so he was facing Josh now, and he slid his unoccupied hand into his pants pocket. "No one says you have to have it all figured out right this second. You do you, Joshie." There was a pause, and Eric seemed to re-evaluate his sentence. "Well," he decided, "You do her, and she'll do you." If there was anything wrong with the way it sounded, Eric was far from concerned. "It'll all work out."

His neck swiveled in order to look his brother in the eyes. "That's really all you have to say about it?" Amy had talked his ear off about his future, his father smiled and nodded because anything Alan had to say was already said. Josh didn't even want to think about the three stunted conversations that Cory had tried to have with him.

Eric just shrugged. "I like Maya," he stated plainly. "She's been niche adjacent for –what- fifteen years now? And under that bravado," Eric trailed off as the blonde approached. "Don't lose that." He advised sagely.

"Wasn't planning on it." Was all Josh could get out before Maya made a show of stomping up to them.

"Old man Matthews." She announced, arms crossing over her chest. "You realize you just graduated college, right?" If her lower lip jutted out anymore, Josh was going to kiss her. It didn't matter who was in the room. "Why the hell are you standing over here in the corner?"

He wanted to point out that she had started it. After all, this was where he had found her. Instead, he glanced at Austin and the rest of the group in the middle of the floor. "I hadn't been asked to dance yet." Eric grinned at him when he winked at her.

"I don't ask." Maya's voice was dangerously low, and she threaded her hand into his, tipped an imaginary hat in the good Senator's direction, and pulled him out to join the rest.

* * *

Growing up twelve years younger than the closest sibling to you meant that there were a lot of moments in the life of a normal younger child that you never get to experience.

It also could mean that you get the mortifying moments later down the road. Like when your older sister can't seem to remember which one of the only two doors on your side of the apartment leads to the bathroom.

"Really Morgan?!" Josh shouted, balling up the dress shirt he had just pulled from his body and flinging it at his sister, who was still standing in his doorway gaping at him. He stepped over to his desk to grab the shirt he was changing into, considering dropping his pants just to see if it would motivate her. "Jesus! Get out of here already!"

"What the hell is that?" She countered, tossing his shirt at his bed so she could step closer to him.

Josh groaned. "My chest?" He offered helpfully. "It's been attached to me all my life! This can't be the first time you've seen it."

He had his shirt over his head and had almost managed to pull it across said chest when his sister's nails stopped him. "I've seen your chest, dumbass." She pulled the shirt back up over his shoulder, catching his left peck with one of her nails. "I'm talking about the thing _on_ your chest!"

"There's a thing on Josh's chest?" Riley shouted from the living area. Austin barked out a laugh as Josh threw his eyes around the room to make sure anything that could possibly be Maya's was out of sight before his mother and niece could turn the corner.

Taking a step away from his sister, Josh just went ahead and shed his shirt again. If he was going to be scrutinized, he refused to have it done with his arms over his head.

"It's a tattoo." He called back out to the living area where Austin was joking with his father about 'some growth'. "Morgan's got one on her ass if we're getting touchy about it!" He didn't catch what Maya's comment to that was, but his sister cracked her knuckles against his stomach as his mother moved her out of the way so she could see it properly.

"Dude!" With his shirt out of the way, Morgan apparently had a better look. His mom traced the dragon's tail, and Josh shook his head. "This artwork is sick!"

"No one says 'sick' anymore." Josh cut Morgan off with a huff.

Another tap to his stomach and Josh wondered if there was a way to accidentally pop her back without getting caught. "Maya! You have to come see this piece!"

The grunt of disinterest got another laugh from Austin. "Unless there's a Pikachu suddenly riding that dragon, I'm pretty sure I've seen enough of it!" He could just imagine her rolling her eyes as she scrolled through her Instagram while waiting for everyone to be changed and ready for dinner. She and Riley had made a pit stop at Shawn's on their way to the apartment to ditch their graduation gear in favor of something a bit more comfortable for the low-key Matthews family dinner that Senator Matthews had decided to treat his family to.

Amy's eyes widened comically as Morgan laughed. "I take it this is one of yours?" She called back.

Apparently tired of shouting, Maya appeared leaning against the door jam. "Riley's got my handwriting on her foot. Topanga's got one of my pieces on her ankle. Josh has me on his chest, and Shawn's got a piece on his wrist." She didn't seem too interested in revealing the fact that her 'piece' that Shawn was wearing was actually her name. "If I keep it up, all of the Matthews clan can have their own piece of Maya."

Again, Amy appeared scandalized, which only caused Morgan to laugh harder. "I'm totally buying you a drink tonight!"

"She's nineteen!" Alan shouted from his place on the lounger.

"I'll buy myself a drink!" Morgan called back. "And just let you drink it." A quick wink and she stepped back, handing her brother his shirt.

Before Josh could work his arms through the cloth, Riley was taking her aunt's place. "This looks so much better than the drawing." Josh shook his head as Maya guffawed. It was literally the exact same work. Maya had helped convert it herself. "Are you sure I can't convince you to design me one?"

"Can I _please_ have the room so I can change?" Josh spat out before Maya could answer her. Amy nodded once, satisfied that her son had merely marked himself and wasn't disfigured now -which the more Josh thought about it was a bit more disappointing than he thought it would be- and slid back from the room. Morgan merely winked at him as he donned his shirt, earning herself a giggle from Riley and Josh's middle finger.

"Daddy! Josh just flicked me off!"

Maya was the last out, shaking her head at his family as she pulled the door shut.

* * *

An hour later had Josh wondering if his brother understood the meaning of the phrase low-key.

He was fairly certain that contracting an entire Japanese Tapas Bar just outside Little Italy was nowhere near that description.

Josh supposed it was just his brother's way of celebrating him and Austin, and Alan did point out that with the edition of A's family, Will, Lucas, Farkle, Isadora, Ava, and Dewy they would have had to try to find a place that would be able to fit 25 comfortably, which while not impossible would certainly be a feat.

He had to hand it to his brother, though, he chose a pretty amazing place.

"You give it to her yet?" Austin was propped over the back of his chair after the entire bar was treated to Eric betting his baby sister that she couldn't eat a spoonful of wasabi without crying.

Morgan won, which only seemed to add to the absurdity of the challenge. It was probably par for the course, seeing as his roommate didn't seem to understand the concept of whispering or personal space.

"Of course I did." Josh spun on his stool, making sure to pull the glass of sake that his sister ordered for him out of Maya's reach since he turned his back to her. When Shawn's brow rose on the other side of the bar, Josh leaned closer to his best friend. "Because I can't think of anything that would thrill my commitment-phobe non-girlfriend more than me offering her a key to my new place while literally surrounded by my _entire_ family."

Austin's mouth hung open for a moment as if he was trying to figure out whether or not answering sarcasm with sarcasm was a good plan at this juncture.

He apparently decided against it. "I could do it." Josh had long since had it confirmed that Austin had been the one to offer Maya a key to the place they were moving out of. He'd laughed himself off of the couch when Austin admitted that it was based entirely on the fact that his room was closest to the front door, and he was getting tired of her waking him up. "It'll be just like old times."

"Can it really be 'old times' if it was five months ago?" Josh asked without thinking. When his best friend's mouth opened, Josh shook his head. "Don't answer that."

"This doesn't have to be nearly as complicated as you think it does." Austin caught the attention of the bartender, nodding to his almost empty beer bottle.

Josh didn't have an answer for that.

Mostly because Austin was right. Giving Maya the key should have been as easy as breathing. A smile, a joke, and a comment about her running away from her roommate really would be all that was needed. Then again, Josh knew that Maya still hadn't decided whether or not to put some of her scholarship toward another housing allowance, or if she was just going to move into Shawn's –after all, she was there every night she wasn't with him anyway- full time. As much as he hated to admit it, they'd done such a good job of ignoring the elephant that his family had shoved into the room with the revelation that they were together that he was afraid to push his luck.

"This is easy," he paraphrased Eric's sentiment from earlier that day. "She's complicated."

Austin accepted the fresh bottle with a smile and a nod. There was a giggle from the other side of the room, Morgan, Maya, and Riley had wedged themselves into the same two feet of a booth with Will, Farkle, and Lucas. Josh completely missed his best friend studying his profile, watching as her face softened at the image of his sister and his lover animatedly whispering to each other.

"Just give her the damn key, Matthews." Austin offered before taking a long drag of the bottle.

As much as he wanted to follow his best friend's advice, Josh knew it probably wasn't going to happen that night. He shook his head eyeing the leather jacket draped on the back of the chair closest to his mother. His keychain had gotten heavier as he had taken to carrying around the one he got for Maya as well, a simple stamped metal disc with the words 'I hope your day is as nice as your ass' that they had found last time he allowed her to drag him back out to the Brooklynn Flea. He hadn't even had the apartment when he bought the keychain, and no aspirations to actually give it to her. Now it seemed to be mocking him.

Josh missed Austin abandoning him at the bar. He'd also somehow missed Austin sliding into the open seat beside Maya, and then being used as a chair when the blonde realized that the three women couldn't eat –or move- while sitting on top of each other.

She seemed less than concerned about inhibiting his roommate from being able to reach his beer in the middle of the table.

There was a shout, Austin grumbled, and Lucas stood carefully, deftly swapping seats with Farkle in order to pull Maya from the older man's lap, dropping them both in the same chair and then nodding to whatever draft beverage was in front of him. Topanga and Katy joined the crowd –more critiquing from the sidelines- and Josh came back to himself around the time Shawn stepped up to the bar.

Josh took a deep breath and counted to ten before he shifted in his seat, acknowledging the man who might as well be another older brother.

"She's been avoiding me." Shawn took a long sip of his beer as Josh contemplated the words.

The 'she' in question was obviously the vivacious blonde who had managed to talk Morgan out of her cocktail. Maya had relinquished Lucas's drink and was sharing a plate of something with Will while the conversation flowed.

"She just finished her first year of NYU with a 3.5." Josh reminded the older man with a smirk. "And didn't you spend a week in Cali and the next two in Spain?"

The look Shawn spared him was a blatant reminder that those three things didn't mean that his initial assessment wasn't correct. Then something cracked in the traditional Shawn Hunter façade. "I've been told I owe you an apology."

Josh followed Shawn's gaze across the room, noting that both his sister-in-law and Maya's mother were watching them from the corner of their eyes. "You've been told?"

"You're a good kid," Shawn started. "Responsible, with a decent head on your shoulders." Shawn had glanced down at him again before scooting his eyes across the room. Josh didn't turn this time, letting the softening around Shawn's lids tell him who he was looking at. "And I may not understand it," there was a quick intake and Shawn muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'makes no fucking sense to me'. "But your current 'arrangement' makes sense for you." Maya jumped from Lucas's lap, shouting about something Riley had said while the brunette's cheeks flushed. "I've certainly never seen her as happy. So, I'm sorry."

Josh nodded, signaling for a beer as he drained the sake glass he'd been holding. "Thanks," he nodded, hoping that this would mean the end of whatever tension between him and Shawn that they had been working with the last few weeks. He accepted the bottle –and a glass that he hadn't ordered that looked suspiciously like the one Maya had just drained- and turned back to the table. "But we both know I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." Shawn gave him one quick nod, and Josh slid across the floor, trying to figure out exactly where he was going to park himself at the booth.

"Josh knew the first day." Maya was explaining to the table, Riley's flush only getting deeper. "Did you honestly think he wouldn't notice?" She held on to the back of Lucas's chair and waved to the table " _'Goodnight_ _Neverland_!" Farkle's eyebrow rose, and Josh knew exactly what the genius would allude to if he thought he could get away with it. Riley hadn't been the only one who thought she could slide into someone else's room unnoticed.

Riley sputtered a few times, curling into her boyfriend, much to everyone else's delight. Morgan glanced up at him as he replaced Maya's drink and slid into the empty, backward chair to the other side of Farkle.

"You really thought you could 'chaperone' this trip?" Her smile was apparent.

Josh shook his head, nodding to Riley and Will. "I thought I could chaperone nothing." A quick sip of his drink and he angled his head to the side of the table where Maya was now bookended by Farkle and Lucas. "I had one job in Italy." Morgan's eyebrows rose, Lucas sputtered against the lip of his beer, and Maya's eyes lit up. "To make it back to New York with the same number of people we left the country with."

"Then I'd say you did a splendid job!" Farkle raised his drink with a flourish.

He wasn't sure where the 'hear, hear' came from. The next thing he knew there was an entire flight of fresh food being dropped onto the table while Maya slid off of Lucas's lap. Josh watched her cast a glance over to where Riley was feeding Will, and her mother was mock scolding Cory and Shawn for something before she stepped up behind him.

She skimmed her fingers between his shoulder blades, stopping when she brushed the nape of his neck. "You got a minute?" Josh still didn't understand how her breath could brush his earlobe without her being right next to it, but Maya managed it all the same.

By the time he had made it onto his feet, Maya was already rounding the staircase that separated the restaurant from the landing that led to the street. He grabbed his jacket out of habit, not entirely sure they would need it at the end of May,

Maya accepted it with a smile, pulling it on over her tunic top and leading him onto the sidewalk and down to the end of the building.

He stopped when she came up short, turning and sliding her hand across the top of his belt and pulling him toward her. "I didn't get you a graduation present." She whispered against his lips as she backed up to the side of the building. His hand dropped to her hip, making up the height difference by lifting her slightly so she was pinned to the building by his hips.

"This is me not caring."

Her hand slipped beneath his shirt, nails biting into the muscles at his side. While this wasn't the first time they had seen each other since finals, Maya hadn't spent the night in the week that Riley had been home, and with his mother breezing in and out of his apartment, they hadn't tried to chance time alone during the day.

One of them groaned, and Josh could feel her fighting the urge to slide her left hand down to join her right. The sound came again as Josh slid his hand further up her thigh, pulling her roughly against his hips.

"I'm not going to last another week," Maya muttered against his neck when they both needed air.

The words were on the tip of his tongue now. The only reason they were making out against the side of the building was because Maya hadn't told Riley yet. One little push could solve that problem.

Maya's lips trailed down his neck and Josh shuttered under the realization that one little push could also be the end of this.

"Come home with me tonight." He said instead. Maya stiffened in his arms, and Josh ran his thumb in circles on her thigh. "Mom and Dad are at Cors. Morgan's at the Regent." Maya's muscles relaxed just a touch. "I don't care what you tell Riley - _if_ you tell Riley," he cut her off when her mouth opened. "I want you in my bed tonight."

Something flickered in Maya's eyes, an emotion that Josh didn't have the ability to name. Then the blonde in his arms was nodding. Her hand slid across the nape of his neck, anchoring herself in his hair as she pulled his lips back to hers.

"I have something for you." He said on their way back in the building. He wasn't sure how long they'd been gone, but he knew that someone was bound to notice.

Maya laugh was unadulterated. "It's your graduation," her brow furrowed.

"I've never claimed to be conventional." He pulled his keys out of his pocket, flicking the release on the oversized lock that served as the center of his keychain. Maya's key dropped into his palm without prompting and he held it out, chain first, in her direction.

"It's a key."

She hadn't taken it yet, which was Josh tried not to take as the first sign that he had made a mistake.

He met her eyes over the top of the key. "It's _your_ key." Josh had to give himself credit. His voice never wavered.

"My key?" Maya's did.

"This time next week I'll be in a new place." He reminded her, dropping the object into her palm. "Since Austin won't be there to wake up whenever you feel like dropping by…" He let the end of the sentence drop as she turned it over in her hands. "And Shawn's taking some time off of traveling. I thought it might give you a guaranteed quiet place to study next semester."

It was entirely possible Maya had yet to blink.

"My key," she repeated again, finally catching his eyes with hers.

"I told Aus that I wasn't going to give it to you tonight." Once the words started, he couldn't get himself to stop. "So if you could not mention it, I'd be appreciative."

It seemed to give Maya enough for her to come back to herself. "How appreciative?"

He slung his arm over her shoulder, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as he pulled open the door to the bar. "You're already coming over tonight," his voice dropped a fraction of a decibel as he dropped his jacket onto one of the far tables. "Ask me again later."

"Where the _hell_ have you two been?" Morgan was in between the bar and the table they had claimed, a beer in one hand and a plate in the other.

Maya's eyes widened and Josh shook his head. "I was giving Maya her graduation present." He shot back, reaching for the beer he had abandoned. He made sure to catch Riley's eye as he took a swig, to gauge the reaction of them coming back together.

There was none.

Morgan's eyebrow rose before she shook her head. "Confusion isn't going to make me forgive you." She was pointing at Maya, who was clearly resembling a deer caught in headlights.

"It just slipped out." Lucas had caught on the Maya's train of thought now, lifting up in his seat slightly in order to catch her eye. Seeing the Texan smile at her managed to calm a fraction of her nerves.

"Slipped out?" Maya repeated.

There was a curse, and a shake of Morgan's head as she rolled her eyes again. "Why in the hell didn't you tell me that you guys got my baby brother to sing karaoke?" The relief flooded from Maya in a breath. "I have one more call to make," Morgan held her phone out as if she needed to remind everyone that her husband was on the other side of the country dealing with a multi-casualty accident, and then pointed back at the teenagers at the table. "And then we're blowing this popsicle stand and you can show me what you've got."

Maya stole Lucas's beer as she slid back into her previous perch on his lap. "How many cabs do you think we're gonna need?" She threw out to Farkle, who had his phone out, already reserving a room.


	39. Part XXI: Crash & Burn

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 9,358  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Short Author's Note: The title of this chapter comes from Dan Henig's song Crash & Burn. I'm pretty sure that this song was written for the way Josh feels about Maya. Check it out!

* * *

Josh was never a fan of moving.

Not that he really had experience doing it.

The closest he had ever gotten was packing up the things he wanted to bring with him from his childhood home in Philadelphia to the apartment that he had called home for the last handful of years. And even then, it was five boxes, the bulk of his clothes, and the used bedroom set from his brother's house.

It didn't even matter to him that this move was going to be considerably easier than the last one.

He and Austin had finished taping up boxes, distributing the items in the common areas of the house –i.e. the living room furniture was Austin's, even if Maya did tell him half a dozen dirty things that may or may not have happened on the lounger which was why it was now moving to Josh's apartment- and make sure everything was labeled for the movers when they showed up first thing in the morning. Then it was a matter of hanging out in his new, empty, apartment, waiting for the furniture that he had bought –because Maya could only talk Austin out of the lounger, and everyone had decided that a new mattress was in order for his new 'grown up' place- that morning, and the movers that afternoon. The family had been enlisted to help him unpack and move things around, but in the end, it wouldn't be nearly as hectic as if he'd uprooted and moved by himself.

If he was asked, Josh honestly couldn't remember what his parents were doing that morning. He was pretty sure it involved Auggie and Dewy, but they had agreed that they wouldn't be needed until later in the day, so they had made other plans.

It didn't stop him from wondering which one of his parents had made a copy of his key when he wasn't looking when he showed up at his new place to find the door unlocked. It also probably said something about him that he turned the knob and wandered right into the apartment anyway.

The place was almost bare, which didn't surprise him. Austin's mother hadn't texted to say that the moving company had gotten to their old place yet, and none of the rest of the furniture was supposed to be delivered until later anyway. Almost, because there was an oversized leather multi-pocket purse sitting on the granite of his island, and a pair of low heel, rounded toe Carlyle boots leaning against the hard wood.

"I haven't even moved in yet," he called to the rest of the apartment. "And you've already taken over the place."

"It's your own damn fault!" Maya called back from the other side of the wall mounted barn door that marked the transition from the living area and his bedroom.

Josh toed off his sneakers, dropped his keys onto the counter beside her purse, and headed toward the sound of her voice. He slid the door to the side and laughed at the picture she most likely hadn't meant to make.

He didn't know how she'd managed it, and quite frankly Josh didn't care, but his king-sized bed had already made it into the room, situated on the small platform that he vaguely remembered agreeing to against the high window on the far wall. Maya had managed to get the sheets on the bed –various shades of gray because they were masculine and blended beautifully with the exposed brick wall the bed sat against. Maya had also situated the wooden cubed end table that his mother picked out at the foot of the bed beside a deep-seated armchair. His actual end tables were plain galvanized steel frames that he hoped would look less sparse when they had things on them. His dresser, made of the same wood that the cubed table was, was pushed against the wall opposite the open closet. There were two industrial iron mirrors, one already hung over the dresser, and the other –the taller of the two- braced against a stand on the far wall.

The blonde that he had sought was currently standing on the table top, barefoot, screwing a lightbulb into the multi-canned light fixture that he could have sworn he told her he wasn't putting in. There was a rather large pile of boxes in the corner closest to his closet, which he imagined contained the bedside lamps that he had actually agreed to, as well as the other decorative tidbits that he had been talked into.

"How do you figure it's my fault?" He braced her hips with his palms, laughing when she muttered to herself that he was here early before letting her use him to hold onto as she climbed down.

Absently Maya gestured to the room. "Guess who gave the wrong phone number to Jensen-Lewis when they filled out the delivery paperwork?"

It was a rhetorical question. One that Josh was the worst kind of not sorry for when he realized the implications of putting Maya's phone number down as the point of contact for his bedroom furniture.

"How early did they call?" He asked instead of apologizing.

Apparently, it was the right answer. Maya rolled her eyes at him and slid her socks back on her feet. "Eleven-ish." She shook her head as she seemed to have trouble remembered the exact time. "I'd just left Riley and Topanga after spin class." The time seemed to fit, and she nodded again. "I can't be too mad," she inserted quickly. "I needed to be here for my own delivery."

Josh's eyebrows rose before he could catch himself. "You're getting things delivered here?" No matter how surprised he thought he was, his tone certainly wasn't.

"You didn't look around when you walked in, did you?"

He could tell she was laughing at him. "How obvious is it?" She didn't even have to laugh at him. Maya's top lip quirking up and her teeth capturing her bottom lip were enough.

Letting go of her, Josh backtracked through the open door. He made a quick sweep of the kitchen, noting nothing out of place other than her purse and shoes, neither of which would he actually consider out of place. Then he turned to the right, toward the oversized brick window and the living area.

 _This belongs in your new living room._ He heard the blonde trailing behind him say as clear as day. It didn't matter that the conversation was almost six months old, and they were no longer standing in one of the cloth booths of the Brooklyn Flea. Her hands might have been sliding along his side, but he could still see Maya clearly crouching down to unlock the wheels to see if it still rolled.

"It's gonna look perfect with the old-school drafting table your dad's having delivered later." She muttered into his back.

He was inclined to agree.

The piece very well could have been the exact same one that Maya had originally pointed out. The distressing was almost identical, the wheels had been cleaned so they could roll easily across the hardwood floor, and the iron had been polished to make it stand out, not to take away any of the character.

Josh didn't turn away from the cart, choosing instead to reach behind him and pull Maya around his body. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair, his hand caressing her arm on its way up to cup her chin., "Thank you," he repeated just before his lips brushed hers. She opened her mouth, eyes poised as if to tell him that whatever she was going to say would be frivolous and casual, and he wrapped his hand around her ponytail so force her lips back to his.

"I'd like to remind you," it took a moment for Maya to regain her voice when they parted. "Yes, you have utilities, and your bedroom is set up." She bit her lip again, and Josh stooped to worry her lip free with his. "But neither of us have a spare set of clothes, and there aren't towels for a shower."

"I think you're underestimating how much I don't care if my apartment smells like sex right this second." It was the point Maya was trying to make, even if she went about the wrong way to say it.

"Your mom is coming straight here after they get done at the zoo." She tried again.

Well, that told him what kind of plans his parents had made. It didn't help to deter his original idea, though, which was probably what Maya had intended.

That wasn't to say that he didn't understand her trepidation. Not only had Maya managed to put up with his family, individually and together, for the last two weeks, but she had somehow done it with a smile on her face and keeping him at arm's length at what could be deemed the appropriate moments. She had navigated situations that had left his high school girlfriends –as well as a few college ones- speechless, and managed to keep on his mother's good side.

He would also give her the fact that the others were due to arrive in a little over an hour and there was no way for them to clean up, or put on fresh clothes. "You win." He conceded with another quick brush of his lips on hers. "But I'm not going to be satisfied until we've tested out the new bed."

"I picked out the new bed." Maya reminded him with a wink, skirting past him to move back into the bedroom. "It only needs your stamp of approval."

Josh was behind her in a second, sliding a hand over her hip so he could gain the leverage he would need to toss her on the bed, pinning her to the comforter with his hips. "Are you sure sassing me is a good idea right now?" He asked, using the box spring to keep enough momentum to slide directly into their next kiss.

Her phone dinged on the kitchen counter, and Maya licked her lips. She leaned up into the kiss, and Josh felt her fingers ghosting his side before she anchored her knees to his hips to roll them over. "I think now's a perfect time," she offered, pushing off of his shoulders and practically running through the doorway.

"Cheater!" He called after her, pushing himself off of the bed to follow. She had reached her phone just before he got to her, and he slid both arms around her, lifting her from the floor, as she attempted to answer whomever it was that had messaged her.

"Sore loser," her muffled voice accused. No matter how much she shifted or twisted, she couldn't slide out of his arms. As he brushed his lips against her pulse point, Josh wondered if she knew that he knew she wasn't trying that hard.

Neither one heard the knock at the door.

Maya's next laugh may have sounded a little too much like one of them commenting their affirmative because Josh realized a second after it happened that the front door was opening.

There was no way that their position could be misconstrued. One of Josh's hands was gripping Maya's waist, the other had wedged its way under her shirt in order to tickle her yet hold her close. The moment Josh registered his father and brother in the doorway his lips were still pressed to the column of Maya's throat.

She was suspended about six inches off the floor thanks to his grip, but Maya's smile didn't waver. "Good afternoon!" She shouted from her current position. "How was traffic?"

The squeak that came from Cory's throat was drowned out by Alan's laughter.

* * *

"Is Dad mad at you again?" Riley flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and marked the spot on the wall so Will could drill a hole for the shelf bracket.

Josh watched as Maya stopped threading the curtain rings onto the pipe that she had decided was going to be a curtain rod, purse her lips, and glance down the ladder at Riley. "Cory's not mad at me." The blonde stated simply. "I actually don't think he ever really was."

"He _was_ ," Riley said simply, moving on to the next shelf.

Another shake of blonde hair. "He was disappointed." Maya corrected, then there was a moment when her nose scrunched and Josh could have sworn he heard her thinking that that was probably worse than Cory's anger. "And he'll get over it." She popped the pipe into place and reached for the swivel ratchet to tighten the bolts.

"What's he disappointed about?"

Maya knew the second Riley's mouth opened that she had walked right into that one. The only real saving grace she had was the fact that Riley was concentrating on the wall. He watched her debate with herself while staring unfocused at the top of the brunette's head before biting her lip. "Cory and I have two different views on what my love life should look like." She stated diplomatically. She finished ratcheting one of the bolts in place and then flipped her gaze across the room. Josh thought he saw her eyes soften when she watched Cory watch them. "I'm not saying he's entirely wrong, but he doesn't get a say in this one."

Josh wasn't sure what Riley made of that statement, but once Will had the bolt screwed into the wall. She stood up to her full height then, bumping her friend's shoulder with her forehead. "It means he loves you," she whispered softly.

Whatever Maya said was lost against the sound of the next bolt sliding home. It seemed to be what Riley was expecting because the younger girl abandoned the project she had volunteered her and her boyfriend for in order to hold her best friend's ladder and hand her tools.

"This place is certainly coming together." Amy slid up next to him as soundlessly as she could manage, threading an arm through his.

He was more than inclined to agree with her. The couches had been delivered not too long after the arrival of his father and brother. Maya had taken charge there too, deftly mapping out the room to maximize space. She'd even remembered to include the drafting table, which would be situated on the wall perpendicular from the window when it arrived to allow maximum light. She'd tisked at the stool that he had chosen, mumbling under her breath that he would tire of it before the end of the year, and insisted that the locker style shelves he picked out sit between it and the wall that housed the large window.

Alan's subtle jabs had begun when he finally noticed that the desk that Josh had chosen –which fit snugly in nook hidden by the bathroom- was large enough for two computers with a short set of drawers in the middle. It had more than enough shelving, and Maya had gotten marquee letters to install above the top shelf that announced _#work_. Laid out on the floor, it had looked like one big mess, but even Cory had to admit that it seemed to work with the eclectic industrial bohemian style that Maya had cultivated.

For the record, Lucas was the only person to point out that Maya seemed to put entirely too much thought into _someone else's_ apartment. Maya had made a show of nonchalantly pointing out that if she hadn't found him a girlfriend by the time he moved into one of his own, she would have to extend her services to him as well. Then she ground the heel of her foot onto his shoed one –ineffectively, Josh noticed- on her way to grab her water bottle.

Josh leaned into his mom. "It certainly is," he blew out in a breath.

"My baby is finally living on his own." Josh wanted to laugh at the noise that came out of his mother's mouth next. It could only be described as a cross between a groan and proud snort.

"I've been living on my own for the last three years." He pointed out with a shake of his head. Yes, he had tried the dorms his first year. And no, it hadn't gone well. Which was why when he was able to get out, he had found himself a roommate and moved into the University approved off-campus housing as soon as humanly possible.

Amy just shook her head. "You in college, on scholarship, and living in approved housing is so much different than you having your own apartment, kid." She bumped his shoulder with a smile. Amy was aware that she was officially the shortest of her family members, but around her youngest, it never seemed to matter.

Looking down at his mother, Josh knew that she would get philosophical and morose if he allowed her to. So instead of feeding into her 'my baby's growing up' attitude, Josh nudged her again. "And here I thought you were about to mention that Maya's floor plan left no room for an air mattress."

Her eyes unfocused for a moment before Josh realized that his mother had concentrated on Maya and Riley on the other side of the room. Alan and Cory had moved into the bedroom to mount the second television, which gave her an unobstructed view of Maya toying with baskets and Josh's various collectibles while Lucas and Will installed shelves and Riley made small talk. Maya sensed that she was now the center of attention –a weird little habit that Topanga had once told him that she had always seemed to possess- and she smirked at him through her lashes before turning back to her best friend.

Amy caught the look, studied it, and then turned so she was facing him. "You're actually going to make me say it, aren't you?" Her arms came up to her chest, and she cocked her head to the side.

There was a trick to reading his mother. Morgan had taught it to him when he entered middle school. It was how he knew when to fight for something he wanted and when to stand down and just accept her judgment. At first, he had pushed the limits, but as he grew he'd begun to actually pay attention. It was how he knew that –despite her insistence- Amy was closer to her middle son than either of the others, that when he ignored curfew when his siblings were visiting that she would come down on him harsher because Amy didn't want her other children to think that she had gotten soft and that whatever his mother said next was something that she was hoping not to have to admit.

If it weren't for the fact that he would have to explain the context, Josh would have called Morgan with his win.

"I see it," Amy said at last, mulling over her next words in her mind. "I don't want to," she cut off his next thought with a shake of her head. "I had hoped that you were enough of your other two siblings that this wouldn't be something I'd have to worry about for a few more years. But I see it." He couldn't pretend that he didn't know what his mother was referring to. There was a giggle from the other side of the room, and both he and his mother turned to watch Lucas huff and hold out a hand to help Riley and Maya off of the floor, muttering to Will that something was his fault. "And it may help that from what I can tell," his mother had taken a step backward. Speaking over her shoulder meant that they were less likely to be overheard. "The Josh and Maya Show seems to fit in the same block as the Riley and Maya Show."

"One gets preempted because of the other quite frequently," he said without thinking.

As if she could read his thoughts, Maya turned again, nodding to her handiwork on her side of the room.

* * *

Three hours later found Josh in the middle of his kitchen putting the final touches on the dinner order that his mother was about to place. Riley had demanded burgers, Cory had picked the restaurant, and Alan had offered to pay if it meant that he could sit down in the recently delivered chaise and pretend that he was an old man for a few minutes.

The rest of the furniture had been delivered, and the boxes that he barely remembered packing had all been distributed to their proper room. Lucas had gallantly thrown himself in front of Riley so Josh could snag the two that contained things that belonged to Maya to the back of his bedroom closet before she could notice it. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement that Maya would be unpacking those herself, it didn't matter that he wouldn't be able to take a shower and use his own soap until she did.

There wasn't a knock at the door. Shawn merely threw it open and strode in as if he'd been there hundreds of times before. He wandered as far as the kitchen island before surveying the layout that Maya had dreamed up.

"Not bad."

"Shawn!" Maya hopped off of the step stool she was using to straighten the letters on the wall –and the baskets on the taller shelves- and practically ran across the room. "Did you bring it?"

And that seemed to be the crack Josh needed to notice that Shawn hadn't arrived empty handed. Laying on the counter, where he had set it when he arrived, was a large plain brown paper package. "As requested," he announced with flourish.

" _Requested_?" Josh moved closer to the counter, watching Maya hum with excitement.

The blonde in front of him nodded enthusiastically. "I know you said you wanted to 'live in it' before you start putting art on the walls." Maya placed both hands on the package, felt around with her thumbs, and then flipped it over. "But I wanted to get you started."

"Art _and_ a coffee table," Josh whistled appreciatively. "You're certainly making up for not buying me a graduation gift."

Shawn laughed, earning himself a reproachful glare from his pseudo-daughter. "I'm not sure she _paid_ for any part of the creation of this."

Maya stuck her tongue out at her would-be father and held the package out to Josh with both arms.

Josh slid it from her hands, quirking an eyebrow at how easily she handled the heavy twelve by eighteen frame. They had everyone's attention now, and Josh balanced the top on the counter as he slid his hand under the tape on the bottom in order to pull the paper off.

It was the frame that gave it away. Josh would maintain that for as long as he lived. He had been in Maya's room at Shawn's so many times over the last year that identifying the collection on her bedroom wall had become second nature to him. This one was one of the black matte frames, and the matte between it and the piece seemed to be a darker shade. Removing the paper completely revealed a split image. On one side was a red sky, with a ship, a flying silhouette and half a crocodile with a clock in its mouth. The gray of its teeth making the white of the clock face pop. On the other side of a thin black line was the other half of the clock face, styled in what Josh would guess was half of a silhouette of Big Ben. A beautiful waxing crescent moon and stars that looked more like little fairies led down to the outline of buildings that were most likely London's skyline.

There was no title, which was okay with him. He didn't need the stylized writing that only a few of the other covers had to tell him that she had given him her minimalist book cover for _Peter Pan._

"It's your favorite book," Maya said softly, her eyes never leaving his face. "I remembered right, right?"

"He used to demand this as his bedtime story every night when he was in elementary school." Amy smiled fondly as she surveyed the piece. "I used to curse Cory for buying him the damn book in the first place."

"It was Shawn," Cory deflected, pointing across the island at his best friend.

He was thankful for whoever decided to grab onto it next, allowing them to take the weight so he could take the three steps he needed to wrap his arms around Maya. "You did good, Gorgeous," he whispered into her hair. He felt her smile into his shoulder before pulling away. "Why have I never seen that one before?"

Her top lip quirked and she scrunched her nose. "I may or may not have known it was going in your first actual apartment when I painted it." She whispered between bitten lips. He shouldn't have been surprised. According to his niece, each of the covers that had been shipped off to college with her friends –Luca's _The Longest Ride_ the only exception since his mother had stolen it and hung it in his bedroom at home- had been created with the sole purpose of giving them away after the show. "It would have ruined the surprise if you knew about it beforehand."

There was no way that Josh could say what he wanted to say. Even if they weren't surrounded by friends and family, the words that he bit down on the tip of his tongue wouldn't be able to make it past his lips. Instead, he took a step back, turning to glance at the piece again. "Where do you propose we put it?"

Her smile seemed to bloom. The twinkle in her eye appearing only after the word 'we'. "It _just so happens_ that there is a wall anchor and picture hook already on the wall near your drafting table." She was entirely too happy with herself when Lucas –who had been the one to take the frame from him- began moving to the designated spot. It was about two feet from his drafting table, breaking up the empty space that existed in the six feet between it and the television that Alan had mounted to the wall.

"Perfect." He told her quickly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind and dropping his mouth down next to her ear. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome." She announced with a grin. Josh gave himself a second to breathe her in before glancing back up at the wall. There was another moment when he entertained the fleeting thought as to whether or not there was enough room on that wall to house the remaining four covers that graced the larger wall of her bedroom.

It was the same feeling he got when he realized that the kitchen table was placed off center in the space that it had, and that the easel that she'd been coveting at the Brooklyn Flea would fit perfectly in the corner that the empty space created. They could also fit another set of the thin lockers that were next to his drafting table for her paints without it being obvious. It was the reason that he had bought the full-length mirror for his bedroom even though he didn't think he would ever be the one to use it.

It was as if she felt the air around them shift. Maya leaned back into him for another moment before turning, bringing her face right up next to his. "Let's face it, Matthews." She said after a moment. It was entirely possible that everyone was now watching to see what they would do next. "This place would look like you and A's dorm room if I wasn't around to class up the place."

He caught her hand before she had a chance to pat his cheek with it. "I am forever in your debt," Josh announced, bending at the waist and bringing her knuckles to his lips.

She rolled her eyes, the crease at the corner of her lips turning upward betraying her annoyance, and Maya flitted away before his lips could connect.

"This means I can drive home tomorrow and not feel guilty that I didn't actually help you unpack?" Alan took his credit card back from his wife, gesturing around the room with it before slipping it back into his wallet.

Josh flopped back next to him, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "Only if you take Amy with you," Shawn called from the other room.

His hand went up almost immediately. "He said it!" He shouted before anyone could agree with the sentiment. "Shawn said it!" If ever there was a doubt that Josh was a younger child, it dissipated at the sound of his voice.

"How much do you have left?" Will stepped over Josh's feet, taking aim at the wide chair on the other side of the couch. He barely made it before Riley was perched in his lap.

The noise of disapproval was quick to come from Cory's throat. Maya raised an eyebrow in his direction, before dropping herself in the middle of the coffee table. Josh grinned when she steadied herself, more to make sure that they had locked the wheels after the last time it was moved, and then shifted so she could stretch out. She crossed her legs at the ankles right over his knee. "Books," Josh started with a yawn. "Movies, clothes," he nodded behind him. "I don't think the bathrooms made it yet."

"At least there's soap and toilet paper." Will added helpfully. Behind him, Amy shouted 'you're welcome!'.

"Your drafting stuff is in the hall closet." Maya pointed out helpfully.

Riley's brow furrowed as Shawn displaced two stools so he and Cory could sit down as well. "Is it considered a 'hall' closet if there's not technically a hall?"

"You're not allowed to think anymore." Maya braced herself on her palms and shifted so she could nudge her best friend's knee with her toe. "And your laptop is on the bed." She was staring at something over Riley and Will's head, but Josh knew she was addressing him. "I logged into your FreshDirect account." Josh prayed that no one thought that was odd. He didn't have it in him to get creative with his answers tonight. "You'll have to eat out for breakfast in the morning, but they're delivering the basics tomorrow at two."

Josh nodded on instinct before squeezing his eyes shut as if that would help him remember whether he or Austin had paid for the last delivery. He supposed if it came out of A's account, he would know soon enough, and it wasn't as if they had never transferred money before.

"In case anyone has any doubt," his sentence drug off as his mother perched herself on the arm of the chaise. " _That_ is why she gets to waltz in and out of here like she owns the place."

Maya's nod was more scrunched nose and a slow smile. "It's true." That was directed to Riley. "I get a quiet place to study and Josh never has to wonder if the milk's gone bad."

From his place on one of the desk chairs, Lucas snorted. "Sounds like Zay's last relationship."

"No fair!" Will shouted, pointing across the room at the Texan. "He's not here to defend himself."

"Overruled!" Riley swatted Will's hand out of the air. "It's what he gets for taking that trip to Cancun with his frat brothers."

While Cory and Shawn were content to speak among themselves behind the couch, Alan and his wife were actively studying the young adults and their various positions around the room. He honestly wished he knew what was going through his mother's head when Lucas wheeled the chair to the other side of the coffee table, bracing his feet against it to give Maya something to lean back against.

"Speaking of trips," Lucas interrupted his train of thought, pivoting slightly and taking Maya with him. "Are the two of you gonna be back from Tahoe in time for all of us head to the Hamptons together for Farkle's thing?"

There were parts of the city that seemed like a ghost town over the summer. Most business professionals attempted long weekends and working remotely whenever possible in order to enjoy the weather. Most of the interns at S.O.M. that were offered full-time employment had actually organized a time share in Montauk between them. Josh hadn't joined in on that one. Mostly because he didn't mind hanging around the city, and he was a huge fan of the empty office when he had big projects to work on. There was also the fact that if he was going to head to the beach, it was probably going to be with the blonde whose toes were poking into his shin, and he would be staying at the Minkus beach house.

Will's hand drifted down to his hip before he remembered that he had borrowed Josh's charger. "When was Farkle having the house open again?"

The smirk was easy as Josh watched Maya repeat the action, on both hips, before leaning further back into Lucas and tapping his knee. The Texan didn't even bother to argue as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dropped it into her waiting hand. A quick press of her thumb to the home button, and Maya pulled up the calendar. "The second," she shook her head, and Josh could almost hear her announcing she was buying a physical calendar for his kitchen the first chance she got. "He and Smackle are heading straight there when they get back from Japan with her parents. It's a Thursday," she started as she handed Lucas his phone back. "I promised Topanga I'd close, and then we were gonna head down first thing on the third."

"That would be a negative." Will's memory seemed to catch up with him. "We're going to be flying in probably when you're getting on the road."

Cory muttered something under his breath about how his daughter was an adult, and his wife said that that meant she could take a trip to California with her boyfriend and his family and there was nothing he could do about it. The kids ignored him. Shawn just patted his knee sympathetically, his eyes cutting to the bedroom door and back meaningfully.

"Mrs. Matthews said something about lunch that day." Riley nodded, confirming Will's memory. "I'll talk to Dad about arranging a car out before dinner?"

Lucas held out his phone before Maya could ask for it. "I'll talk to Farkle," she muttered as she was texting. Josh could only assume the recipient was the genius himself. "We'll do a clam bake or something so you guys can just show up when you need to."

"Uh…" Riley's hand went up slightly before she remembered that they were all in an enclosed area. "Did I miss the part when Maya became the most responsible?"

Josh wiggled his knee, Maya stuck her tongue out at him. "She's not." He assured his niece. "She's just the bossiest, so we let her make the plans."

"Are you sure sassing me is a good idea right now?" From the lilt of her voice to the tilt of her chin, she had one hundred percent mimicked his sentence from earlier. It was even possible that she was trying to figure out how to point out that he could sleep in that big bed all by himself tonight.

"I think now's a perfect time," he offered with a quirk of his lip. He was calling her bluff and she knew it. Regardless of what she had said last week, she hadn't been able to dodge her brunette shadow. With the exception of dinner with Will and whatever the hell 'afternoon tea' was with Will's mother and sisters, you didn't find Maya without Riley, or vice versa. She held his gaze slightly longer than was necessary, blue eyes dancing. Josh could feel Maya getting edgy, and he knew that an edgy Maya was a dangerous Maya.

She was staying the night, even if he had to talk Lucas into lying to his niece to get her to do it.

"Yo Bix," Maya turned again, sizing Will up.

Will, on the other hand, looked terrified. "Yes, Hart?"

"There's not much here that Matthews can't do on his own." Riley's eyes widened and Josh could see the anticipation of whatever activity that Maya was going to suggest that they do. Maya pulled her feet from Josh's legs and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I think after we all eat dinner and celebrate the fact that we made it through a move without anyone being maimed, that pretty lady next to you needs to be taken to the new Katherine Heigl movie." When Will physically resigned himself to another evening without his girlfriend, Maya laughed. "And I think while you're there, you should buy her some red vines so she can pretend we're all seeing it together."

It appeared that Riley wasn't sure whether or not to be disappointed. "Peaches?"

Maya's smile softened sweetly. "Poor Will here hasn't been able to spend some time just the two of you since you got home." She reminded the brunette. "And I think I need to spend a little time in Mayaville."

There was a pause before Riley nodded once, a smile spreading again. "You're still picking me up for brunch with Farkle, right?"

"Like I would miss mimosas with Minkus." Maya deadpanned, elbowing Lucas's knee. The Texan handed her his phone again. A handful of buttons and Maya flipped the device around. "Lou will be at your house at ten thirty so we can arrive in style."

"I'm allowed to find it odd that the two of you command the Minkus driver whenever and wherever you want?" Alan lifted himself off of the chair just enough to see both girls around Josh's shoulder.

Lucas chuckled and murmured something about how Farkle would probably let them do whatever the hell they felt like just because they were them. Shawn, however, leaned forward against the back of the couch. "I don't think it's considered 'commanding' when Stuart's pretty much given the girl's carte blanche." It was an interesting way to look at it, but it didn't seem to bother Shawn. "After all, he offered Maya her own suite in the tower when he overheard her complaining to Farkle that her new roommate was hindering her studying in the dorm."

"Misconception!" Maya physically pointed out. "Mister Minkus offered me a key and use of the guest room before he realized that I still had my room at your place."

"Would it be childish of me to point out that her argument is little more than semantics?" Shawn polled the room with a frown.

Cory nodded. "Yes," he ruled carefully, a hand to his chin. "But do it anyway."

"Semantics!" Shawn shouted with a point of his own.

He didn't move again, but Alan smirked. "Well said."

* * *

And then there were five.

Shawn had excused himself right after the food arrived –there may or may not have been a comment about a date, and Maya may or may not have hinted that she was fully aware of the fact that Shawn was meeting her mother for a meal of their own- and then Cory ordered a cab for him, Amy, and Alan shortly after the food had been consumed and the mess cleaned up.

To preempt the argument that Maya knew would come when Riley stopped to think about her not going to the movie with them together, especially since it had been one that they had discussed leaving Will out of when they saw it, she borrowed Josh's laptop a second time to order the tickets. She had the confirmation sent to Sir William's phone so there would be no excuses.

Maya even escorted the two down to the curb when their cab arrived, assuring Riley that everything was fine and that they should enjoy the movie.

"She keeps up like that and she won't have to tell Riley." Lucas murmured from the window. He'd grabbed a beer –and yes, it was mentioned by no less than three people that Josh didn't have groceries, but he'd bought beer- and wandered the place one last time to see it in its finished glory.

Josh was still in the kitchen, shifting through his last pieces of mail that Austin's mother had brought by. She had been directed in her walk through by Amy and Maya and had had just enough time to call Josh a good boy before she had to get back to the hotel to make sure that Austin's sisters were packed fir their flight back west. "Maybe that's what she's hoping for."

"It won't do her any favors," Lucas was inspecting the desk, where Maya's purse now sat on the left-hand side. Josh's desktop had been installed on the right, and he wondered how long it would take before her graphic tablet would migrate from Shawn's. "She won't care about the relationship. Maya's happy, you're happy, the world can keep spinning." He took a careful swig, eyes drawn back to the street through the window. "It's the lie that's gonna bite you in the ass."

The rebuttal was there on the tip of Josh's tongue. They hadn't lied. Not about any that mattered. They had specifically gone out of their way to avoid lying; words unspoken, sentences held back.

But he couldn't bring himself to say that Lucas was wrong.

"How long did it take her to tell Riley about you?" He asked instead, snapping the lip on the container of eggrolls so he could slide it into the fridge.

Lucas shook his head, a memory written on his face. "Two days." He turned to watch Josh blanch, faltering at covering what was left of the wonton. "After the triangle from hell it was non-negotiable," the Texan was quick to point out. "Farkle could figure it out on his own, and he was smart enough to see it for what it was, but I wasn't going to let Maya skirt around it with Riley."

Food finally in the fridge, Josh turned back to the other side of the room. "You're not going to slide in a dig about being better at this than I am?"

"Would it make you feel better?" Another swig of his beer and Lucas met his gaze.

He didn't get a chance to answer. The front door popped open under Maya's hand, and she kicked it shut with a booted foot before surveying the room. "Everything all right in here?" She asked as she crossed to the island, using it to prop herself up on so she could remove her boots.

While Josh tried to think of a response, Lucas just raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason it shouldn't be?"

The look that passed between them wasn't one that Josh could decipher. Maya pulled the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head minutely. Lucas nodded once and finished draining his beer.

"In that case, I think I'm gonna take off." He dropped the empty on the counter, the building had recycling protocol, but that was as much of an explanation as Josh had managed to get with everyone there. "Isadora is going to the ballet with her parents and I promised Farkle we could do guys night."

Josh tried to imagine what 'guys night' with Farkle could actually entail.

When his brow furrowed because he came up short, Maya smiled. "Red Bull and video games until the wee hours of the morning." She explained, stepping up to her best male friend. "The only reason Luke here is gonna beat Riley and me to brunch is because he's gonna sleep there." She gave him a quick pat on the cheek, finally turning to look at him. "Think you boys can make it into actual clothes before we get there?"

The older man seemed to consider it. "Depends entirely on your definition of 'actual clothes'." He decided, at last, dropping a kiss to Maya's temple before holding his hand out to Josh. "Place looks great, Matthews."

"Have a good night." Josh gave Lucas's hand a brief smack. He could see Maya's eyes rolling from the corner of his own. She always managed to give them crap for their 'masculine displays of affection. "A mentioned getting to the batting cages sometime next week if you're up for it."

There was a quick nod, and then Lucas was gone.

Josh watched as Maya surveyed her handiwork, moving from the living area to the office nook. She blatantly ignored the fact that he and Lucas had made plans, and hadn't made any attempt at their own conversation. Not that one was needed. Maya was a livewire, a plethora of words and touches, but he'd quickly learned that she thrived in the silence as well.

"There's a box or two with your name on it in the bedroom closet." He nodded in the proper direction as he sorted the glass bottles into the separate trash can. Both cans fit in the bottom of the pantry –and yes, he knew he had Maya to thank for that one too- and he kicked the door shut when Maya turned to him.

"Really?" She reached for the water bottle, having decided that the living room was as good as it was going to get.

Josh wanted to point out that she could move the blanket on the chaise one more time if it made her happy. "Ma put your initials on them," he corrected. He had actually been as amazed at Amy's grasp of subtle as he'd been of her discretion.

"How much stuff did I have in your apartment?" She asked offhandedly, already making her way to the bedroom.

He could have answered that without following her to the bedroom. Three separate outfits, a small bag of makeup, her spare laptop and phone chargers, two hoodies –three if you counted his NYU hoodie that she'd appropriated- and two pairs of shoes. He'd also accumulated the bathroom necessities that she had needed over the months. Everything from shampoo and the conditioner he decided she paid too much for, to the feminine hygiene products that Austin giggled inappropriately at when his mother pointed out that they were there. There were a handful of textbooks, a spare set of headphones, and the Anne Rice book she had been trying to get through since Christmas tucked into the bathroom box as well.

Josh wasn't about to tell her that a few of her half-used sketch pads had been placed in the box with his drafting supplies. Or that he'd hidden the paint set she's brought over during finals in the locker shelves already.

Instead, Josh threw himself on the bed and watched her drag the two large boxes out of the closet by herself.

"This can't be right." Maya hadn't looked at him yet, ripping the tape off of the top of the one labeled brightly with the word 'miscellaneous' in bright pink sharpie. The 'MH' in the bottom corner was in a darker shade, which blended into the black lettering already on the box if you weren't looking for it.

"What?" Josh had popped his laptop open and was distracting himself with going over the grocery list she had ordered from.

She had stopped moving, which he took as a sign to stop pretending he wasn't paying attention. "How in the hell did I not notice that all of this was in the apartment?" She pulled the last of the clothing out of the first box, revealing a bag of hair products and brushes that Josh hadn't noticed before. "I think there's more of me here than at the dorm."

He slid from the bed then, leaving the laptop open in case he needed it again, and dropped to the floor behind her. "You've spent more time with me than there." Josh offered carefully with a kiss to her shoulder. "Renée wasn't exactly conducive to your GPA."

"Shawn thinks that I should just skip the dorm experience next year." Maya reminded him, tossing her favorite of the three hoodies onto the bed and surveying the next box.

Josh refrained from commenting on that one. If only to spare himself the foot in the mouth that he would get if he mentioned that she had decorated his place to her own specifications and picked out the bed could be a sign that this might as well be her place too. "It's something to think about, at least." The look she shot him over her shoulder told him he wasn't as diplomatic as he thought he sounded. "You're the only person I've ever heard of to have four beds to sleep in within a twenty-mile radius."

She seemed to consider it, and then a blush slid up her chest. "You're not wrong," Maya huffed softly.

"For the record," Josh dropped a kiss to the spot where her neck joined her shoulder, then slid his lips up to press carefully behind her ear. "I find indecisive, nomadic Maya kinda hot."

The words had the effect he was going for, even if he got an eye roll before she confirmed it. "Stable, boring, grown-up Josh is kinda hot, too." Maya turned her head just enough for their lips to connect. "For the record."

"I'm kind of liking the record." Josh slid his hand around her body, using his grip on her hip to turn her to face him. His mouth opened again, words he most certainly shouldn't say so close to spilling out that the only way to curb the urge was to kiss her again.

If asked, Josh wouldn't be able to describe the movements that led from them kissing on the floor to Maya sprawled out beneath him on his bed. He could note that it involved his laptop thudding to the floor at some point, and a vague comment about how he should make sure it was okay, but then the suggestion was drowned out by the groan that never failed to be pulled from Maya's lips when he found her pulse point and the frustrated growl that she would let out when she was reminded that him having five inches and about fifty pounds on her meant that she would need his cooperation to remove his shirt.

He allowed her to sit up and divest him of his shirt only after she was missing her own. All it took was his thumb brushing against the elastic of her boy shorts for her to abandon her quest to rid him of his jeans, her hands going to the button of hers without breaking stride.

"You're entirely too good at this." She whispered against his lips, tongue darting between his teeth.

His hand brushed against the crease of her pelvic bone and thigh deftly. "Complaint department is closed for the night." Josh swallowed her smirk as he pushed her jeans further down her thighs. "If you'd like to leave a message-"

"Joshua Gabriel…" Her tone was playful, and she nipped the skin right above his tattoo with a little too many teeth.

A pink lace bra joined the pile of clothes growing on the floor.

"I'm a little rusty," Josh admitted playfully. When her jeans joined the bra, Josh sat back on his heels. "First and middle name means I'm supposed to stop what I'm doing, right?"

He deserved the next bite and the one that came after that when his thumb twisted against her skin and she stifled the groan on the skin of his shoulder. And when she kneed his hip lightly, turning them over so she could sit back on his knees and divest him of his jeans, he simply let her take charge.

Her name slid from his lips without thought when she leaned back down to him, and Maya's whole face seemed to light up. "What?"

"Nothing," then she was on her back again, and Josh brushed his lips against hers. "Just Maya."

It seemed to suffice.

* * *

Josh had apparently slept through Maya getting up and shutting the rest of the apartment down. The light above the stove had been left on due to the fact that it was their first night in a new place, and bumping into things when navigating to the bathroom might be an issue. A quick glance around the room told him that their clothes had made it into the laundry basket by the tall mirror as well, his phone charging on the nightstand on his side of the bed, and his wallet and watch next to the light.

The blonde in question was cushioned against his chest, her own pillow untouched on the other side of the bed. She was in the shirt that she'd pulled from his earlier, and her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head.

For a moment Josh actually wondered what it was that woke him. Both phones were blissfully silent, and there wasn't the typical noise that came with a new place. He couldn't even hear the ice maker from his current position. Then Maya sighed, and her thumb brushed over the words on his wrist and he just knew.

"If the next words out of your mouth are that you miss A," Josh dropped a kiss to the top of Maya's head and felt her laugh.

"He's your boyfriend," she whispered matter-of-factly. "A used to leave the radio on in his room."

"He hated wearing headphones." Josh laughed again. "He used to say that it was to drown us out. The apartment was always quiet at night until you started staying." Maya huffed out a breath, and Josh ran a hand through her hair. "What else has you going tonight?"

"Shawn thinks that I should just skip the dorm experience next year." It was the exact same words from earlier, said in the exact same tone.

Josh wasn't entirely sure what she was asking of him. He was willing to bet good money that she didn't know either. "You mentioned it," this time it was his voice that was cautious. "You've still got a month or so before you have to decide." It was the equivalent to 'why is it keeping you up at night'. Or at least Josh hoped so.

"If I didn't," her sentence trailed off slightly. "There's a chance I'd be here more."

There it was. The line that they had drawn in the sand what felt like forever ago had been blurred a bit and Maya stepped neatly up to it to test its longevity.

"You've got a key." Josh shifted so her head lolled into the space between his bicep and his chest. It took her a moment for her to understand that he was asking her to look up at him, and he rewarded her with a kiss when she completed the motion. "You know the Netflix password. You're better at remembering to order groceries." Another kiss, followed by a quick shrug. He knew what she was expecting him to say, and the part of him that had fought so long against this flared stubbornly. Then he remembered the conversation he had with his father the week before. "We'll make it work."

It was Maya's turn to initiate the next kiss, and it was as sloppy and poorly managed as any of her apologies seemed to be. "We'll make it work." She agreed, twisting her lower half smoothly to pull his arms closer to her.

The last thought that entered Josh's mind before he drifted off again was that he should probably move his clothes to one side of the closet before more of her wardrobe showed up and did it for him.


	40. Part XXII: Leonard Cohen

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 7,614  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Short Author's Note: I want to apologize for my absence. I tried to cater to all of my reviewers, and wound up losing where I had originally intended for this to go, and it took me longer than I wanted to get back from that. I hope I still have readers. And that you'll bear with me as I right the ship. So if you read this chapter, drop me a note. Tell me what you've liked about the series so far, and what you're looking forward to. More to come soon.

* * *

There were moments when it hit Josh that his life had a tendency to be slightly different than other peoples.

Pulling his Jeep out of storage so he could drive himself, Lucas, and Maya to the Minkus Estate in the Hamptons for Fourth of July weekend was most definitely one of them.

Then again, most of the summer had felt more than a little surreal.

It had begun shortly after his parents had left the city. He'd gotten a pat on the back from his father and a few of his mother's tears on his shirt and officially declared an adult the night after they'd all moved him into his apartment. The next morning had him waking up to a head full of blonde hair and an almost perfect June morning.

He took a breath, checking his side mirrors before changing lanes. The weather the last few weeks wasn't anything of significance. Josh most certainly wasn't going to remember it years from now, but he would most likely attribute the lack of the general drama in his life to the fact that other than a few summer showers, the weather was damn near perfect.

By some strange grant of mercy, that morning had started one of Maya's week long stretches spending the night in his apartment. Josh still wasn't entirely sure how she managed to make it past Riley –because Lord knew that the two girls saw each other multiple times a day pretty much the entire month- but every night she would let herself in, kick yet another pair of shoes against the wall, and settle in next to him while he answered work emails or read up on the works that he would need to know for the classes that he would be starting in the fall. Most mornings he would leave the coffee pot brewing when he slid off to work, and she was never there when he got home in the evening.

That wasn't to say that that's all he saw of her. There were lunches that she and Riley would spring on him. A few times they even managed to wrangle Austin into the mix, and Will was an ever-present presence. She sent him ridiculous selfies and kept a running dialogue with herself in his messenger, whether he had time to answer her or not. On the off chance that they were out and about somewhere in the neighborhood of lower Manhattan when he left work, he would meet them for dinner and shenanigans.

They even managed two family dinners in that week, shocking the hell out of Cory and Shawn by being just as normal and 'uncouply' as they always were.

The week after that Josh had been invited to the Minkus/Smackle engagement party. It was a painfully semi-formal affair that he was thrilled that his entire family had been subjected to with him. The only thing that made the party that was obviously catered to the Upper East Side Elite bearable was the brilliantly huge smile on Maya and Riley's faces when they received rather large 'will you be my bridesmaid' packages after the sit-down dinner.

After that he buried himself in his very first project as an official Junior Architect at S.O.M. Maya did dinner runs when he was stuck at the office –sometimes eating with him, sometimes just dropping off on her way to wherever it was she and Riley were meeting friends. She didn't spend a whole lot of time at his place that week, not sleeping over, not bugging him to take breaks, not doing anything other than apparently magically filling the fridge, making sure he had plenty of coffee and creamer and managing to do his laundry without him noticing she was there. She'd claimed that she simply hadn't been able to get away, but Josh caught admitting to Austin at dinner one night that she didn't want to distract him from such a big project.

When Riley and Will headed to Lake Tahoe with the Bixby Clan, Josh found himself in what he was sure was the most bizarre week of his life.

Again, Maya battened down the hatches for another full week of sleeping under his roof. She ordered takeout, did laundry, completely took over his kitchen table with that ridiculously portable tabletop easel she had. She even invited Lucas, Austin, Farkle, and Isadora –who had somehow been informed of their arrangement between Italy and the moment that Josh wandered into his living room from a late afternoon meeting to discover burgers and Bond films marathon- over to hang out.

She'd even managed to talk him into the amazingly not awkward –and certainly not a double date- adventure with Lucas and one of the girls in Maya's spin class. They'd ridden the Q to Coney Island, and spent half the night challenging each other to horrible dares that mostly involved food and riding the same three rides dozens of times. They ended the night curled up on the beach watching the Friday Night Fireworks while Lucas and –whatever the pretty redhead's name was- told each other bad jokes.

Which brought him back to the fact that they were currently two days into the month of July, speeding towards a weekend of frivolity. Something that Josh was finding easier and easier to transition into, despite the distance that would be between him and Maya, since he had been pulled fully into his niece's group of friends.

Josh spared another glance to the backseat and the blonde that was currently spread out across it. Neither he nor Lucas had expected her to decline the offer of shotgun. She certainly hadn't before. But once her weekender had been loaded into the trunk, Maya had slipped in behind him, alternating between sketching on her ever-present notepad or texting Riley, headphones firmly in place.

Lucas had entertained the possibility that she was going to detach and come back to them at some point in the two-hour ride. Josh was skeptical.

"I don't think it's you." Lucas offered when they cleared Dix Hills. He turned the page in the book that he was reading for his online summer class and flicked his eyes to the vanity mirror as to gauge whether or not Maya was paying them any attention at all. "You know that, right?"

The short answer was yes, Josh fully understood that her seemingly growing agitation didn't really have anything to do with him.

The slightly longer answer was that Josh knew exactly what was bothering Maya, and the multitude of ways that she had spent the last week avoiding addressing it. It didn't mean that he was any closer to figuring out a way around any more than Lucas probably was.

"I'm aware," Josh threw back.

The Jeep changed lanes, and it was Josh's turn to check on Maya, this time using the rear view. They had yet to turn up the radio, which meant that the pop song buzzing in the back of his head was coming from Maya's earbuds. Josh supposed that talking about her as if she wasn't in the car with them was made easier knowing that she was none the wiser.

Lucas nodded, pulling his highlighter out of the cup holder. "You try talking to her about it?"

The sarcastic answer was on the tip of Josh's tongue and he washed it down with a sip from the Dr. Pepper he'd grabbed from the last gas station. "Tried to bring it up last night when we got home." They were coming up on what Riley would refer to as 'overshare territory'. It was a shame that the only other person that Josh could think of to share this with was currently spending the weekend at work adapting the base messaging system for a coworker's team because there was a death in the family.

The blonde in the passenger seat raised an eyebrow.

"If I tell you how she skirted the issue, you're not going to want to eat in my kitchen again." Josh took an unnatural amount of satisfaction over the blush that graced Lucas's cheek then. It had been pointed out to the both of them a time or two that they belonged in an exceptionally exclusive club. Sometimes it brought them closer together. Others, like this one, was just plain torture.

It was Lucas's turn to reach for his drink. "Thanks for that," he coughed. Once the cap was replaced on his water, Josh could have sworn he heard the Texan mutter 'man, I need to get laid'. "And you're sure it's the Riley issue?"

"She FaceTimed yesterday when I got home from work and I got to pretend I wasn't home." Josh rolled his eyes at the memory of Maya throwing herself off of the chaise before she stopped the ringing, blatantly lying to her best friend about breaking into Josh's place because she couldn't find the carrying case she kept her good markers in and she thought she'd left them there. "It's Riley."

There was a pause as Lucas shot another look to the backseat. He didn't have to move his lips for Josh to understand his next thought.

"I don't know how much longer I can take her avoidance."

Lucas nodded slowly. This was the flip side of the uncomfortable coin Josh tossed earlier. "Sucks to be you," he agreed in a tone that brooked no argument that he was commiserating, not flippant. "You're not going anywhere, though." His tone was stronger, and Josh cut his eyes to the passenger side for the briefest of moments. "Are you?"

The volume of the music buzzing from the back seat dimmed slightly, so Josh couldn't even pretend that they weren't being overheard. Instead of answering the Texan, he gave his head one good shake and pulled his soda from the cup holder. "Oh!" Josh watched Maya's eyes in the rear view. "And apparently, you're rooming with Maya this weekend."

"It _really_ sucks to be you." Lucas laughed wholeheartedly then, holding the highlighter up as to not accidently mark the page.

* * *

Despite the closeness of their families or the fact that they had two seemingly insistent women in common, Josh could honestly say that this was the very first time he had actually been out to what Maya referred to as 'The Hamptons House'. And he didn't care how it sounded, he was going to find a way to get the two in the car back for not warning him that there was an actual security checkpoint when they reached the property line. Maya was in her own brand of trouble for not piping up sooner and allowing the guard to force Josh to pull his wallet out of the center console for his identification, and then actually climb out of the vehicle so they could do a walk around.

He supposed that that meant that she was feeling a little better about this weekend.

Before they left, Cory had tried to warn him that Farkle was being modest when he described the place. Josh had thought that he had a handle on it. After all, he'd seen the Minkus penthouse.

It came as no surprise that he most certainly didn't.

Lucas had mentioned the driveway –which measured more than half a mile if unwound- after they cleared the gatehouse. The surrounding area was kept clean, manicured just a touch so it wouldn't go wild, with sections with benches and perfectly situated flower beds randomly up the drive.

Elegant arches, columns and varied rooflines announced the façade of the Spanish-style home that should have looked out of place sprawled out against six acres. He'd studied enough of classic design to know that the ceilings had to tower over every room, and he loved how cleanly the stucco exterior blended with the arched windows. He whistled softly to himself as they got closer, Lucas chuckling beside him. "Welcome to how the other half live."

"Your parents own a prewar townhouse in Gramercy," Josh reminded his male companion with a huff. "Aren't you part of the 'other half'?"

" _They're_ part of the 'other half'." Lucas slipped his book back into his satchel, flipping the lid closed. "I merely get to enjoy the perks until I graduate." He considered it for a moment, taking a swig of his water. "Then I have to figure it out on my own."

Blonde hair appeared from nowhere, bouncing as Maya leaned against the center console. "Personally, I plan on living off of Shawn for as long as humanly possible."

Lucas swallowed carefully, cutting his eyes from Josh's face back to hers.

The conversation that didn't follow the glances revolved around the fact that she maintained a part-time job, insisted on spending her own money as much as possible and wasn't as imposing in Hunter's life as she seemed to think she was.

It was Josh that broke gaze first, nodding to himself. "I'm sure he appreciates that."

A figure appeared from the front door as the driveway went from asphalt to a gorgeous dark sunburst cobblestone. Farkle casually leaned against one of the pillars, gesturing to the first bay of the two-car garage to his left. The single car garage to his right was wide open, Zay's father's 4Runner backed into it.

It surprised no one that Maya bounced out of the backseat before Josh could put the vehicle into park. "The fun has arrived!" She wrapped both arms around the genius, planting a kiss solidly against his cheek. "Happy Birthday!"

"It's tomorrow," Farkle reminded her patiently, nodding to the woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere. "But thank you."

Maya's bags had been retrieved before Josh made it out of the car, the woman raising one arm and looking pointedly at the group. "Which room are these going to?"

"We can handle it," Lucas made it around the back of the vehicle just in time for the woman to cock her head to the side and glare at him. "Seriously Claud, we always do."

Farkle's head shook slightly. "Not this weekend." Two sets of eyebrows rose and 'Claud' let out a victorious chuckle, taking Lucas's pillow from the tower. "My mother decided that if I'm not spending my nineteenth with them this year, I'm at least going to celebrate in style." Another laugh and Farkle rolled his eyes. "We have both Claudia and Tucker with us."

Lucas had disappeared into the house, the sound of Zay greeting him flowing out through the open door, so Josh turned to Maya when Farkle moved to follow. "Claudia?"

"Claudia is the housekeeper." Maya popped open the door so she could grab her oversized purse, purposefully leaving everything else. "She's run this place almost as long as Farkle's been alive." Josh shut the car door that Maya ignored, following her to the back of the garage and in through the single door. "This is the last time you'll be allowed to pass through this way." Maya pointed past the industrial laundry room to the suite a little further down the little hall. "This is her domain."

They maneuvered around an elegant curving staircase into an immense space with a formal living room on one side –complete with a fully stocked bar- and one of the most intricately designed kitchens Josh had ever seen.

Maya took a step away from him, swinging her bag onto the island and snagging a piece of cheese off of one of the two platters that were laid out for them. "And we've lost him."

"Tucker headed back to the city." There was a flash of dark hair, and Isadora floated into the room. It was almost as if she had been present for the bulk of the entire conversation. "He's bringing Will and Riley tonight."

"Good deal," Maya plucked off a handful of grapes and rolled her eyes at the fact that Josh hadn't completely come back to them yet. "How was Japan?"

"Japanese," Smackle's grin widened. Maya flicked her off. "We brought you back some Wagashi."

The blonde hopped a few times, wrapping one arm around each genius. "I love you both!" Farkle leaned away slightly, a hand coming up to his ear. Maya didn't seem to care, both arms coming up around him when Isadora dipped out from beneath her. "Happy Birthday!"

"Tomorrow." Farkle dropped a kiss to the top of Maya's head with a smile. "And you're welcome." He shifted to angle her towards the entryway to the kitchen and smiled. "Maya's here!"

Color swept through the room like a hurricane, scooping Maya up and pulling her to the other side.

Her laugh was infectious, even as she threatened Zay three different ways in an attempt to get him to set her down. "If you drop me in the pool they're going to have to drag the surf to find your body!" There was another squeal, and a door slammed somewhere in front of them. Maya was now cursing that she shouldn't have given him the idea.

Lucas appeared from behind Josh, a soda already in his hand. "We're putting Zay downstairs again?"

Isadora nodded emphatically. "After he tried to jump off the balcony into the pool," she reminded them. "We thought it safer that he didn't get the opportunity this time." Somewhere behind them, Claudia shouted her thanks. "With that said," Isadora went on, gesturing to out the way Josh entered, "I've decided that we're putting you in the blue room."

He did not stop to gawk at the winding staircase. It was a blatant decision on Josh's part. Nor did he obey the urge to follow Farkle when the younger man broke off halfway up to the loft and moved to the landing that obviously led to the master suite. The elevator dinged in front of them when they reached the top of the stairs, and Claudia emerged with Lucas's bags.

"Rose room." Isadora reminded the woman gently as she made to turn down yet another hallway. Claudia smiled good-naturedly and detoured, cutting across the loft to the bedroom closest to the stairs. "Your room isn't beachside," somehow her apologetic smile didn't match the rest of her face, "but you get the attached covered balcony, and the bigger bed."

"Which totally isn't needed this trip," Josh shook his head politely, not even bothering to pay attention to the rich blues and copper that created the ambiance in the room he would be spending three nights in.

Her years with Maya seemed to have afforded her some knowledge that Josh didn't have. Then there was the indulgent smile Isadora threw at him the same way it slid on her face when she was dealing with Maya. "Of course not." She went on. "We're going to be putting Will in the room closest to you," there was a vague gesture to the wall to her right –with no windows present- and then she tried to point further. "And Riley's going to be in the room at the end of the hall."

"She gets the beach side."

He didn't need to look up in order to know the state that Maya was now in. He did anyway, just to see his non-girlfriend dripping on the cabled carpet trying to preserve her dignity. She had shed her jeans and the t-shirt she had arrived in, and her undergarments were covered in a loose terrycloth robe. Her bag was slung over one arm, and Josh was relieved to see her phone was perfectly dry.

When Maya huffed hotly, Josh couldn't help the smile. "How's the pool?"

* * *

The peace they'd found since arriving couldn't last. Josh knew that more than most. Maya had flipped a mood one-eighty, Lucas had noticed, and the rest of them seemed to be ignoring the elephant in the room. He just didn't think of how and why the tension would break.

They had been halfway through an embarrassingly competitive game of bocce ball when they get the call that Riley and Will had left the city. He couldn't remember how the teams had been settled –or which team was made up of whom since Maya and Farkle seemed to change teammates pretty frequently depending on who was winning- but they'd been denied access to the beach after the clambake pit had been dug and the fire lit and they'd decided to entertain themselves outside in the sunshine.

The announcement hadn't brought the game to a halt, no matter what Zay claimed later, and it was literally all fun and games until Maya hadn't been paying attention and flung her drink all over both Josh and Lucas when her turn had come up.

Which –now that Josh thought about it- had probably been the catalyst.

"Okay." Josh hadn't made it out of his room after changing his clothes in time to see Lucas wrap an arm around Maya's upper, practically dragging her back into the room they were sharing. "You've got about an hour until Wills and Riley show." Maya huffed, rolling her eyes but allowing herself to be manhandled. It was probably safe to say that after leaving the men to talk amongst themselves during the car ride, she should have expected this. "And you're gonna spend that time explaining to me why everyone in the damn city knows that you and Josh are sleeping together but _her_ ,"

"No, no, no, no, no." Maya spit out in rapid succession. Josh could see her pull away from the older man. "I am not getting cornered by this today."

But Lucas didn't seem to care about her declaration. He physically put himself between her and the door, glaring down at her with crossed arms. "We don't have a lot of time," he cocked his head to the side and gazed down at her. Josh might have only been able to see the back of Lucas's head, but he knew the look that the blonde was being given. "Do you really want to spend it bitching about the correct title for this conversation?"

Maya tried to push past him again, and when Lucas shook his head she threw her own back. "Why is this important?"

Josh couldn't hear the curse that he knew Lucas threw out. "Do you need a list?" He offered testily. "You two have been doing –whatever the hell you want to call it- for seven months now. His family knows. Your family knows. _Farkle's_ figured it out. Zay doesn't seem to give a crap." Josh took a moment to run the last few times he encountered their boisterous friend through his mind. While they could just call him blissfully ignorant, there was a chance that Zay had put the pieces together and just decided to let them do them. It wouldn't be the first time that he'd played dumb. "I honestly think that Will has all the pieces, he just hasn't put them together yet." Lucas gave up trying to count on his fingers and sighed.

Maya muttered something under her breath, eyes closing for a moment.

"What I don't understand is why you're keeping it from the one person on the planet that will be absolutely ecstatic about this new development in your life."

Josh didn't actually get to hear her answer.

A cough resounded off to the side, and Josh leaned out of his assigned bedroom to see Isaiah Babineaux himself leaning against the loft banister, watching him intently. "That answers that question." Josh supplied quietly.

There was a quick moment before Zay's face scrunched as he shrugged, the top of his head gesturing for Josh to follow him.

"Eavesdropping's a bad habit to get into." The younger man offered when they reached the kitchen. He didn't even hesitate before reaching into the fridge for two beers, using the countertop to pop the caps. He slid one of the bottles over the granite to Josh even as he was taking his first sip.

"It wouldn't help my case at all if I pointed out that I never do it intentionally, will it?" The craft beer in his hand had been bought with Maya in mind, which made the entire situation funnier.

"You're dating Maya Hart." Zay shot back with a shrug. "Something was bound to rub off."

"We're not _dating_ ," Josh was quick to point out. It was habit, about as bad as his newfound proclivity to wind up in a position for him to overhear conversations with Maya and Lucas.

How the younger man could fit so much into one look was a bit beyond Josh. "When was the last time you paid for her meal?" He asked without breaking his gaze. "How often does she sleep at 'home'?" Another twitch of the eyebrow. "And you do realize she showed up wearing your shirt?"

 _Last night, last week, and Lucas already pointed that out_.

But thankfully enough, when he opened his mouth, all Josh could do was bark a laugh. "We're not dating." He tried again, a sardonic smile spreading.

Zay lifted an eyebrow.

The voices rose above them.

The eyebrow dropped as Zay took another swig of his beer, perusing the treats that were still laid out on the counter.

"For fuck's sake, Lucas!"

They glanced at each other then, Josh wondering what it was that he was supposed to say. It wasn't like he asked Lucas to confront Maya. If anything, their conversation in the car had been to commiserate with the only other person on the planet who understood. And he wasn't extremely unhappy with his current situation. He was more or less content as long as Maya was. Yes, it grated on him, but being with her was more important than pushing her to define their relationship- and he'd always been taught to pick his battles.

The younger man had drained his beer, glancing around the room as if trying to decide if he needed another one while the voices rose again. Zay finally nodded behind them. "You gonna go up there?"

The argument shifted, Lucas growling something in a tone too low to make out the actual words.

Josh thought about interjecting. After all, it had more or less been started in his honor. "Would you?" The men's eyes met, and Zay seemed to consider it. But there was no reason why they should both be the bad guy after the end of this. Someone was going to have to talk Maya into getting over whatever it was that Lucas had brought up. And since it sounded like Maya was winning –therefore Riley was going to remain none the wiser- Josh assumed that it was going to fall to him.

Zay's nod was one of understanding. He turned then, snagging another beer and popping the top fluidly. "There's a pool table in the library."

Again, it struck Josh at how simple everything was with the younger man. He and Maya were more or less together, Lucas and Maya were currently arguing, God only knew where Farkle and Isadora had disappeared off to, and they would all have to pretend that everything was as Riley had left it last week when she arrived in less than an hour. But Zay had a cold beer, and a weekend with his friends that contained sun, sand, and fireworks, so everything was okay in his book.

He couldn't hide his sigh. "Is that really how you want to lose this week's allowance?" Lucas would tap out when he was ready. And Josh would soothe Maya's ego when she allowed it.

* * *

"Sir William!" Zay held his arms up in greeting an hour later, brandishing his beer as if it was some sort of pointer. "How was the drive?"

"Long," The younger man announced, shuffling his hands helplessly in his pockets.

Riley giggled, brushing past her boyfriend to drop her purse on the counter. They had all congregated in the kitchen again when Farkle and Isadora had come up for air, literally Josh deduced from the fact that Farkle's shirt was on inside out, not that anyone was going to tell him. Lucas was sporting a bruise on his bicep, Zay was thirty dollars poorer, and Maya hadn't spoken to anyone since stomping down the stairs. "He's still pissed Claudia won't let him carry in his own bags." A quick kiss on the cheek, and then she was accepting the glass of lemonade that Lucas had in his hand. "Where's Maya?"

"Out back," Lucas spoke before Josh could, placing more warning into those two words as Josh thought possible.

There was a pause, where Riley's eyes bounced from Lucas to Farkle and back again, before the brunette took a slow sip of her drink, considering her next thought carefully. "Is everything okay?" When no one would meet her gaze, she asked a second time.

It was Farkle that took the initiative this time, a failed attempt at a reassuring smile brushing over his lips. "Of course."

The 'café' -which four years of formal training still hadn't convinced Josh was a glorified breakfast nook- was set just off of the kitchen. Zay barked out a laugh when he realized that all three windows were wide open, allowing full view of Riley slipping up to where her best friend sat underneath the pergola with one of her sketch pads, consider her with a careful eye, and then drop herself onto the oversized chair with the blonde.

"Hey, Peaches."

Maya didn't blink, finishing the broad stroke with her brush marker and then tilting her chin. "Hey, Riles." Another quick stroke and Maya finally looked up. "When did you get here?"

It was Riley's turn to shrug noncommittally. She was still reading Maya, Josh had no doubt about that. Riley only pulled out that particular ability once in a blue moon, but when she did, Maya had neither a clue nor the ability to counter against it. "You okay?"

Maya snorted too quickly, pulling her lip between her teeth and finally capping her pen. "People suck."

Riley took a sip of her lemonade, her head still turned toward her friend. There was another moment, where neither girl spoke before Riley reached across the blonde to drop her glass on a nearby low table. It unnerved him that Riley still hadn't spoken. Normally she was all nervous energy, bounding around when Maya wasn't Maya and demanding the ability to fix it. He vaguely considered the fact that Maya probably knew that too.

Josh wasn't sure where the beer had come from. He certainly hadn't noticed Maya snagging it from the fridge and no one had ventured out to her since she'd staked her spot. "I suck." She said after a long moment, bringing the bottle back up to her lips.

And suddenly both young women were still.

"I'm not going to refute that," Riley said after a moment, allowing her words to catch up to Maya so they both could smile. "But I'm pretty sure that's not why you're sitting out here alone."

" _Somebody_ had a good week," Maya deflected sweetly, dropping her sketchpad onto the patio beside her. "How was Lake Tahoe?" She caught Riley's eye and her smile faded as quickly as it had come. Josh wished that she wasn't positioned facing away from him. What he wouldn't give to see what Maya saw.

Thankfully Riley didn't like the silence any more than he did.

"What's going on?" His niece leaned into her best friend, dropping her chin to the top of Maya's head. "You've been like this since I got home."

The urge to dispute it was perched on the tip of Maya's lips. There was also the sardonic glee she should have taken in pointing out that technically Riley _had_ just 'gotten home', even if that wasn't what she meant. The brunette's brow furrowed when Maya didn't seem to rise to the challenge.

"I don't know." She shook her head, dislodging Riley momentarily. Maya pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, scrunched her face, and sighed. "I mean, I do know. I think." Another shudder, "I just-" Josh watched the blonde lift her face up to the evening sky. "It's complicated?" She tried again, physically turning to her best friend.

Riley didn't give an inch. "How complicated?"

"Middle of junior year complicated."

Beside him, Zay let out a low whistle and clapped his best friend on the shoulder.

The brunette nodded. Josh still wasn't able to see her face, but he was fairly certain that Maya may have given away more than she thought she did with those five words. "Is it something we can fix right now?" Riley was taking her time with this. Josh didn't know if she was just that good at reading her best friend, or if there was something else driving her.

"Yes." The conviction is Maya's voice was scary. Then she turned, catching Riley's eye. "No." Her shoulders slumped. "This is probably neither the time nor the place."

Riley bopped her nose against Maya's. "You'll let me know when?" She ventured, turning to acknowledge that everyone was currently staring at them out the window. She didn't wait for her best friend to nod. "So, decision time." Riley's voice rose a little, sidelining the entire conversation in favor of something that would put a smile on Maya's face. "You can sit there with your broody drawing that looks a bit too much like a half-naked tall-dark-and-gorgeous man…" She gestured a hand in the direction of the pad on the ground. " _Or_ ," and her tone suggested she liked this option better. "You can down your beer, find your swimsuit and we can celebrate Farkle's birthday. Because I just had an awesome week, we're here on a private beach with all of our friends, and I've heard a rumor there's lobster." Maya's lips broke into a slow smile at the way Riley was easing into her excitement.

The contents of her bottle were gone before Josh realized that Riley had managed in minutes what all of them were still trying to comprehend.

Leveraging herself up to her feet, Maya left the bottle on the low table, turning and flinging her and her best friend back into the breakfast nook. "Happy birthday!" She forced out, her smile still not quite reaching her eyes.

"It's tomorrow." Farkle corrected again, accepting the hug in the spirit in which it was given. "I'll make sure the hot tub is up to temp."

"You aren't going to have that happy a birthday." Isadora smiled into her fiancé's shoulder before kissing it. She waited for Zay to choke on his drink, smiled innocently, and then moved down the steps to the beach to check on dinner.

* * *

They made it through dinner without incident. As long as you didn't count Maya stealing shrimp off of Zay's plate and then the older boy accidently knocking both of them into the ocean as he chased after her an incident. They forwent the table and chairs that had been originally planned, and chosen oversized blankets and throw pillows. Then, after the feast had been cleared away and the fully stocked bar had been raided, the blankets and pillows had been moved a few dozen yards up the beach to the fire pit closer to the house, and they all settled in for a night of catching up.

Josh had been struck dumb by just how different his niece and her best friend truly were again. Because whereas Riley and Isadora had gone inside to combat the wind by putting on dry clothes and adding layers, Maya had been perfectly content to slip back into her holy jeans and relieve him of his sweatshirt –because it's cold and I'm lazy- claiming the spot between him and Lucas –because you're warm- and starting up a game of Never Have I Ever.

 _Then again_ , Josh thought with a shrug. _With as much alcohol as is floating in her system, she probably doesn't feel it_.

Maya's hand shot up again and she laughed wholeheartedly as Isadora announced, "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping."

Amazingly enough, it was another unanimous sip.

Josh had to stifle his laugh when the hand that held Maya's beer went up, forefinger pressed against the lip of the bottle in the direction his niece sat. "Riley's sip doesn't count!" She declared to the rest of the group.

"Does too!" The brunette rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Unless you and Bix decided to do some after-hours entertaining in Lake Tahoe, you have never _actually_ skinny dipped!" The blonde was practically vibrating. Across the fire, Will's hands shot up in front of himself as if to plead innocent.

Riley didn't budge out of her boyfriend's lap. "I went with you guys in Texas!"

Even if he hadn't already heard the story of their group trip to Texas the summer between their junior and senior years of high school, Josh would still have shot a glance to Maya to confirm his niece's story.

"Doesn't count," Maya ruled carefully.

Poor Will, who was not present on that particular trip, threw a look to Farkle and Lucas as his girlfriend fumed. "Why doesn't it count." The Texan to his left just took another swig of his beer. Maya braced herself on Josh's knee when she could no longer contain her giggles. "Anyone?"

"She was wearing Farkle's shirt," Isadora informed him as sympathetically as possible. She hadn't been on that particular vacation either, but she'd heard about it via Skype the next afternoon.

"But I was naked _under_ it!" The brunette shouted emphatically.

"And we're so very proud of you." There really was nothing else that Will could say, and he dropped a kiss to his girlfriend's brow. The good news was that he wasn't wrong. That was the most daring that Josh had heard Riley get over the years.

Maya eyed Lucas carefully, and he sat up. "Never have I ever kissed _more_ than two other people sitting around this campfire." He announced with fanfare, immediately taking a large swig of his beer.

It was Josh's turn to raise an eyebrow as Maya and Riley saluted each other before they took sips of their own drinks. "Your turn to 'splain." Josh leveled his gaze Lucas's direction as Maya's giggles started anew.

Lucas shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

Zay chose that moment to become distracted with something further down the beach.

There was a long pause as Josh tried to put the pieces together before Will raised his own glass triumphantly. "Never have I ever been kissed by _Maya Hart_!" He bellowed above the sound of the waves.

It was no surprise that Will and Maya herself were the only ones that were able to get away with not drinking to that one.

The blonde in question shifted in the sand between Lucas and Josh, her eyes catching Riley's. Josh's niece didn't even hesitate before nodding and Maya shot across Lucas's lap as if the ground beneath her were spring loaded, planting a sloppily closed mouth kiss on Will's sputtering lips.

"Now I _need_ that drink." Will was at least polite enough to allow Maya to return to her seat before he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

Maya just winked at him.

"And for half a second, Will was special." Zay had swallowed his own sip and then took another for good measure.

"Will's always special!" Riley slid her hand across her boyfriend's neck, pulling him down for a quick kiss. "But I'll redeem you." Another quick kiss and she turned back to the group. "Never have I ever _slept_ with Maya."

Josh choked on air.

Lucas chuckled into his own bottle as Farkle and Isadora joined him and Riley in their sips. It seemed that Josh had completely forgotten that Maya wasn't the only one with a way with words. He was allowed to admit that he had fallen asleep in close proximity to his non-girlfriend. He nodded to Lucas as Zay upended his own bottle.

"Can we please stop using me as the reference point?" Maya called out.

"Do we get to use you as anything else?" The casualness of the question meant that Farkle had been waiting for Maya to open her mouth. The set-up had been damn near perfect.

Maya flipped her braid over her shoulder and then leveled her middle finger at him.

"Okay," Zay reached out and tucked Maya's finger back down. "Never have I ever done tequila shots after midnight."

Just when it seemed like Riley was going to be the odd man out again, Isadora dropped her bottle onto the sand in front of her. "What time is it now?" She asked cautiously.

Farkle held up the arm that contained his watch as Maya reached behind Lucas for the bottle of Patron they had stashed there earlier. "You're safe," mixed with "Live a little." Isadora did the shot easily, Maya following suit. "Who's turn is it?"

"Never have I ever," Josh held his bottle aloft and shot a smile across the campfire to his brother's oldest child, "Quoted a romantic comedy to a significant other during a 'moment'."

"I hate you." There was absolutely no vehemence in Riley's voice when she spat the words at him, no matter the tone. She still took her sip, though, so Josh supposed that it didn't matter that she hadn't been the one to tell him.

There was a moment when Will and Lucas both seemed to consider whether or not to tell the truth, the older of the two flashing a mocking grin toward Maya before upending his bottle. "You don't get to tell me that that didn't count."

"Of course it counted." Maya slid herself into Lucas's lap, stealing his empty bottle and tossing it in the direction of the recycling bag. "You're the Ethan to my Rachel."

The kiss he tried to keep her from planting on his cheek was both sloppy and wet. "No." Lucas dumped her onto the sand unceremoniously. "No fucking way." Maya's laugh was probably the only thing that kept anyone from taking them seriously. "It's taken you six months to get through the first half of _Memnoch_ , yet you can zip through Riley's copy of _Something Borrowed_ in less than a week?"

It probably would have taken less time for Maya to right herself, had she not been giggling like a madwoman. "It was an easy read," there was absolutely no guilt in her tone.

"Now, now children." Zay retrieved another beer from the cooler, passing it to Lucas with the top still on. "Let's not fight."

"I hope you took more than one sip," Lucas countered loudly.

Maya slid the foot and a half that it took to lean back against Josh and nodded in agreement. "I think we're forgetting the reason for this game." Josh cut off Maya's 'Mr. I-Can-Quote-the-Notebook'.

"You're absolutely right." The blonde leveraged herself onto her feet again, skipping across the patio and dropping herself in Farkle's lap. "Happy Birthday!"

"Still tomorrow." Farkle didn't even seem to be paying attention.


	41. Part XXIII: The Beginning of a Bad Idea

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,651  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

No matter the time of year, it could always be counted on that Thursday nights were the slowest nights of the week at Topanga's. Josh took an odd amount of comfort in the fact that this particular week was no difference. There were a handful of people milling about, the bulk of them high schoolers who had been in school for a few weeks now trying to catch themselves up on the readings that they should have done during their summer vacation. And there was a couple out on the patio having an evening coffee.

There was a copy of a Renaissance Art in London textbook propped up behind the cash register. He didn't have to guess who it belonged to with the half-chewed highlighter that was keeping a handful of pages down. Instead of its owner manning the counter, Topanga was going over the pastry case armed with a clipboard and a pen.

"Hiya Josh."

Topanga's smile was always an easy one, even back when Josh remembered things not being so. He supposed that that came with the comfort that your life was turning out the way it was meant to. "Hey, Topanga." Josh didn't bother shrugging out of his jacket. "I thought Cor was supposed to be closing tonight?"

"He and Riley headed back to New Haven early." Her smile turned indulgent then, and she set the clipboard down so she could reach out for the stack of to-go cups to her right. "Apparently, Cory thought that Riley has been lax when it comes to getting Daddy/Daughter time in."

The once-over she gave him told him that she was well aware that he should have already had this piece of information. The door to the back popped open and Josh just shrugged noncommittally. "That means this one is free for the weekend, right?"

At the words 'this one', Maya's head popped up from the tray she was carrying. "This one can make her own plans." Josh wasn't sure if she was pretending to be annoyed at him talking about her like she couldn't form an opinion on her own, or if she really hadn't heard him come in. She slid the tray onto the counter beside her boss, her nose wrinkling at the selection. "Evie's gonna have to make some more of those bear claws if we're hoping to stave off a riot in the morning."

Topanga popped the top on the cup she was working on, sliding it across the counter to Josh before recollecting her pen. "I'll put it on the list."

Josh waited a three and a half minutes –for the list to be added to and for Maya to return to her textbook- before he stepped back up to the counter, leveling his gaze at his sister-in-law. "Think I can steal her?"

"Steal who?" Maya caught his eyes over the rims of her glasses.

Topanga simply flipped her braid over her shoulder and shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Steal me where?" Maya tried again, still not turning to her boss. "I still have to-"

"I can clock you out." Josh had never adored his brother's wife more than he did at that very moment. Topanga had absolutely no idea what he had planned, or why, but she was still one hundred percent comfortable with being his accomplice. "And handle the bank run," she cut the blonde off evenly.

"Thanks," Topanga winked at him, returning to her clipboard as Maya slammed her book closed and dropped it into her satchel. She stormed over to his side of the counter and came to a complete stop when she noticed the leather weekender at his feet. "Oh, yeah! You're gonna need this."

Her eyes rolled and she dropped her satchel on the counter to backtrack to pour herself a mug of coffee. "Please tell me you didn't actually pack me a bag."

Josh briefly wondered what she would do if he said 'yes'. Or if he pointed out that he probably could have based on what was strewn around his apartment alone. "Of course not." Reassurance out of the way, Josh was sure to wait for her to deposit the hot carafe back onto the pad before hefting the bag up and over his shoulder. "Riley did it."

Maya squeaked, Topanga actually laughed out loud, and the teenagers at the couches simultaneously turned to watch her try not to wear her coffee.

Now, to be fair, when Josh had come up with this plan, Austin had been the one to text his niece. Since they had the very strict 'no lying' rule, his best friend had taken it upon himself to inform Riley that they had all planned one last weekend of freedom before they settled down to the doldrums of life. He had even gone as far as to inform her that they were celebrating Allie as well since she started graduate school at the end of the month as well. Riley had been both sympathetic and encouraging, hoping that it would help her best friend transition back into the school schedule. She'd even gone as far as to volunteer to pack the bag instead of telling Austin and Josh what Maya would need.

And Josh would tell his non-girlfriend that, as soon as he stopped being amused by the look of terror that had crossed Maya's face. "You did what?"

"Have a good night, Topanga." Josh scooped her satchel off of the counter, allowing it to join her weekender in his other hand before placing his now free hand on the small of Maya's back, angling her toward the door. Still smirking, Topanga just nodded.

"Joshua Gabriel." Maya would not be deterred, even as she allowed herself to be maneuvered out of the café. She whirled on him the second the door was shut, snatching her satchel back from him and growling in frustration as she pulled her phone from the bag. "You had Riley do what?"

He led her up the steps to street level, fishing his keys from his pocket as nonchalantly as possible with her hot on his heels. "She packed your bag." He said slowly, enunciating each word. "Austin said she was more than happy to help us kidnap you."

Maya froze again, her purse and phone falling dumbly to her side. "'Us'?"

"Us," Josh confirmed, popping the trunk of his Jeep and stowing the satchel for the second time. "She seemed to be under the impression that Christian, Allie, Austin, and I were taking the weekend off together before you and Als started school again."

He apparently had caught her on an off night as well. "You lied to Riley? Are you crazy?"

Josh shook his head, dropping the hatchback with a slam. "For a million reasons, the answer to that question is 'yes'." He informed her, still more than enjoying the fact that she had yet to catch up. "However, not in this instance." He reached for the passenger side door and smiled down at her. "I didn't speak to Riley at all. If you don't mind?" He gestured to empty seat.

"Josh-"

"Get in the car, Maya." He probably shouldn't have chuckled at her.

"Joshua-"

Josh pulled her purse from her arms, setting it into the floorboard before crossing his arms over his chest. "Stop." She was boxed between him and the car door now, and since she had gone to work in flats, he felt like he was surrounding her. "No one told Riley anything." He supplied her carefully, dipping at the knees to come eye to eye with her. "Austin asked for her to help under the guise of a group weekend. She brought him the bag and he dropped it off to me before I left work." The tension in her shoulders eased a little, and he slid his hand down her side to her hip. "Riley is officially halfway to New Haven right now, which means I can stand here in the middle of Manhattan and kiss you if I want." He wanted to, and the only thing stopping him was the look on her face and the fact that they needed to be two hundred and fifty miles down the road in the next five hours. "But I would greatly prefer it if you would sit down, so I can get this show on the road. Please?"

He'd caught her off guard with his honesty. Maya stood in front of him, arms braced against herself, and eyes wide. She considered their current position before leaning forward onto the door itself. "Where are we going?"

"North." Josh smiled when she rolled her eyes at his vagueness. "Up I-95 little ways."

Maya wasn't impressed. "Final destination?"

He dipped lower, knees complaining when he was almost shorter than she was. "You'll find out when we get there." Josh met Maya's quirked eyebrow with one of his own. "Or you can figure it out on the way if you can stay awake."

It didn't escape his notice that she clutched her coffee cup a little tighter as her eyes twinkled with an accepted challenge. He came back up to his full height just as the last bit of unease fell from her face. "Why?"

"Short answer?" When Maya nodded, Josh deliberately stepped forward. "Because I want to."

"Try a longer one."

He thought about it as he bent and brushed his lips against her temple. Maya would most likely think that he was using the action to buy himself some time. "Isadora left a week and a half ago, Farkle and Zay were gone last weekend." Maya blatantly ignored him when he bumped his nose to her cheekbone, trying to get her to meet his eyes. "Lucas drove back to Cornell on Tuesday, and you're losing Riley today." Yes, Josh knew that Riley wasn't truly gone from Maya's life. But a two and a half hour Amtrak ride was a bit more of a commute than fifteen minutes on the B Train. "And to top it all off, classes resume for you on Monday. I couldn't sit at home and spend the next three days watching you think about my last three sentences."

Maya's eyes softened.

If they were any other couple, if their situation was even minutely different than their current reality, there would have been more to his admission. But she was Maya Hart, and he would always be Josh Matthews, so he kissed her nose, slipped the hand still on her hip up to steal her coffee mug, and stepped forward to watch her step back.

"Now are you gonna put your ass in that seat, or am I calling Austin and seeing if he wants to go with me?"

Maya dropped into the passenger seat without breaking eye contact. Then she took her to-go cup dutifully and reached over to start the Jeep as he was walking around the vehicle. She plugged her phone in, flipping the radio to auxiliary so she wouldn't have to wait for him to give her Bluetooth access while he checked the mirrors and pulled out onto the street.

Two songs passed as Maya watched him navigate toward FDR Drive. Then she slipped her shoes off when he merged with traffic and officially headed north.

Josh was almost certain she had actually fallen asleep before they left the island, her head back against the seat and her phone still playing softly in the background. Then her hand twitched next to his on the center console, and head lolled to the side.

"So, would you have been keeping the one room, if you took A on this trip with you?"

He could see her smile from the dim of the dash. "Shut up."

Her hand trailed up his arm to rest on the nape of his neck. "Seriously, though!" Her arm shook as Maya tried to suppress her laughter. "Which one of you is little spoon?"

* * *

While he's not entirely certain, Josh is pretty sure that Maya fell asleep sometime before they made it into Rhode Island. At the very least, she's stopped lording over the radio like it's the only thing he'll ever let her do again. She's also stopped guessing their final destination every time they passed a road sign. They zip through Providence without so much as a grunt, and he's pretty sure she's snoring when he merges onto US-6 headed East.

Although he knows she would probably kick his ass, Josh was debating leaving her in the car when he pulls up in the parking lot of the Chatham Inn. Check in would most likely be easier, and once he got their bags into their room, he could come back for her.

He's not even sure why he's convinced himself it's a bad idea as he's pulling open the passenger door and running his hand up her shoulder to cup her cheek, leaning in as he would have had he been waking her up in his bedroom instead of several hundred miles away. "Time to wake up now, Gorgeous." Maya leaned up the foot or so it takes for their lips to touch, and Josh allows himself to get lost in the lingering taste of the juice she picked up at their last gas stop.

"What time is it, exactly?" Maya pulls back just enough so her lips don't brush his when she speaks, and Josh takes the next foot, running his hand through her hair.

"Just after midnight." He whispers into her forehead, stealing another quick kiss before he backs all the way out of the vehicle to allow her the space to find her ballet flats and retrieve her phone.

He's pretty sure she's still half asleep when she makes it to her feet. The car door is slammed a bit too hard, and she leans against the tailgate blinking while he retrieves their bags. "Where are we?"

"The Chatham Inn." She's not awake enough to comprehend that they're just on the other side of Cape Cod. And even if he felt like disclosing that bit of information, Maya's not going to remember it after she crawls into bed.

She doesn't move to take her own bag. Instead, Maya slips her arm into one of his –making sure to be on the side that doesn't have both bags on it- and allows Josh to lead her around the side of the building to the front entrance. The desk clerk greets them with a sleepy 'you must be the Matthews', that Maya is either not awake enough to have heard, or too tired to be bothered by. Check in takes considerably less time than Josh thought it might, and the pair is closeted in their room within twenty minutes of him waking the blonde trying to curl into his skin.

"I'm totally gonna sound like a bitch when I complain that you've kidnapped me tomorrow," Maya caught his lips with hers, pulling him down onto the king-sized bed with her. "Aren't I?"

Josh's nodding, because she said it first, even as he bends to kiss her again. "Of course not." He lies smoothly. Deft fingers pull his shirt over his head at the same time she toes off her shoes. She still has her jacket on, and the way she blinks between kisses adds to his suspicion that if he sits up to divest himself of the rest of his clothes, she'll be asleep before it's her turn. So instead of pressing their current, intimate situation, Josh sits up on his heels, sliding her jacket off of her shoulders and moving to set her phone on the nightstand.

"There are times I think you're too good for me, Matthews." Maya's eyes weren't open as she traded her blouse for the shirt Josh had discarded.

He slid his watch off his wrist, making sure that it was set next to the phones. There was a fleeting thought that he should pull the chargers out of his laptop bag in order to make sure that they both had a full battery in the morning. It was circumvented when a small hand slid up his leg, gravitating toward his belt.

"That's a very strong accusation." The levity in his voice matched hers, and it forced Maya to look up. Once he had rid himself of his belt, Josh planted a knee to the left of her and leaned in, his hands rising to frame her face. "No one will ever be too good for you," he insisted softly.

Maya's hips shifted nervously. The fingers on the hand that been on his belt twitched against her own leg. Josh wasn't sure when exactly her brow had furrowed. "You're supposed to say that." She argued nowhere near playfully.

There was no doubt in his mind that she actually meant it. Because Maya Hart was Maya Hart, and apparently, nothing was allowed to be easy for her. "No, I'm not." His voice leaves no room for misinterpretation.

To say she's skeptical is an understatement. Her lips form his name even if no sound escapes.

"Have I ever lied to you?" The fire is back, and Josh is transported back to when Maya had begun to accompany his brother's family to Philadelphia for summers and holidays. "And any time before the age of ten doesn't count." He dropped pointedly, making sure they're still eye to eye.

Blue eyes dropped to his chest and her head shook slightly. "I'm pretty sure honesty is in your DNA." The snark was back, and Josh the trepidation hiding behind her eyes.

"Then you don't get to disagree with me on this."

He'd never been more thankful for an interruption than he had in that moment when his next sentence was swallowed by Maya's lips. "I always get to disagree." She whispered against his jaw. "I'm just refining my argument."

Josh stood up fully, pulling her with him by sliding his hands under her thighs. He turned just enough so his back was to the bed and sat down again. "Okay," another kiss, no longer taking her lead, and Josh leaned back slightly. "Give it your best shot."

They were both overtired, and it was pretty much over before it began, but there was no other way Josh wanted to spend his night.

* * *

Maya woke nine hours later to an egg sandwich with garlic aioli, Applewood smoked bacon and truffle potatoes. It didn't stop her from helping herself to Josh's banana pancakes, but he supposed that that was why he had ordered a double helping in the first place. She insisted on them both trying out the spa shower with overhead rain showerhead and body jets –together, which took decidedly longer than Josh had originally allotted before they got going- and she'd vetoed his idea of wandering around the village in favor of the wandering around the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.

"We're not telling anyone that I did this willingly," Maya announced as they crested a dune to arrive at the top of the bluffs overlooking the southeast bay of the island.

She'd found a pair of jeans in the bottom of the bag Riley had packed for her, as well as a pair of her running shoes. And Josh was pretty sure that he could see the tie to her swimsuit peeking out from her Nike pullover whenever she flipped her ponytail off of her neck. She'd stolen a pair of his aviators out of his glovebox –because she'd been kidnapped at night, and therefore did not have proper protection- and no matter what he suggested, Maya refused sunscreen.

He slid up behind her carefully, one hand ghosting her hip as she lined up her phone for another panoramic shot. "You take another selfie and I can't promise they won't figure it out on their own." His own phone dinged, and Josh had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

Austin and Maya had been trying to outdo each other when it came to tagging him in annoying Insta-posts all morning, and he was pretty sure that the text alert he'd just gotten was yet another volley. Austin, Allie, and Christian had chosen to stay a little closer to home, driving up to Montauk and spending the weekend pretending to be townies. Josh wasn't sure if he was relieved or not that the landscapes looked so similar in the photos that they were sharing. Neither one mentioned exactly where they were, and he was pretty sure that was the only thing that saved them.

She listed to the side suddenly, phone swiveling so the image she captured now included him in an ancient Phillies hat. Josh was pretty sure she had it posted even before he was able to bring his hand up to block the lens. "I win." She muttered to herself, hitting one final button.

There was a three second lag before Josh's phone vibrated in his pocket.

"You're ridiculous," he rolled his eyes, pulling her closer so he could turn her back around. Maya went willingly, leaning back into him and hitting the button to reverse the camera, both of them coming in to focus on her screen.

Her smile was contemplative, reminding him a bit too much of her statement the night before. "Probably." He honestly hadn't been looking for her to agree with him. Josh pressed a kiss to her temple in what he hoped was between snaps, and her eyes brightened. "But you're still here."

He wanted to reassure her that he wasn't planning on going anywhere, but this was neither the time nor the place for that kind of conversation. So, with one eye on the camera, he slid his hand under her chin, tilting it in his direction and allowing her to take as many photos of them kissing as she was physically able before she was forced to slip the phone into his back pocket to grab hold of him so she wouldn't fall over.

"I've been thinking," Josh wasn't sure where the sentence came from, or why it waited to appear until they were back on the wooded trail leading to the parking lot, but the second he opened his mouth, it appeared.

The blonde to his left, who had a firm hold on his hand for some reason, didn't even slow her stride. "About?"

"Riley."

Maya's head jerked to the right, taking her face from his view. She made it three more steps before she almost physically paused. "You realize that this is generally where the phrase 'and then the fight started' comes into play, right?"

It took two steps for him to come up behind her, the arm that held the hand she was still attached to crossing over her chest to pull her backward. "I was kind of hoping that you'd at least hear what I had to say before we reenacted you and Luke's shouting match." Her silence was all he needed to know that she was officially listening. "I don't think she's as unaware as you seem to think she is." He dropped a kiss to the back of her head, feeling the figurative gears in her head spinning. "She asked Lucas about the date you set him up on last week and included me in her calculations for the going away dinner."

He didn't point out their conversation back in April when they were in Atlanta when his job was to take care of her while she was taking care of Maya. In truth, Josh was more than a little amazed that Riley hadn't flat out questioned why it was that he had been the one to hop a plane with the blonde. Shawn could have met her in the city, or Topanga could have just as easily taken a few days off. There was also the fact that never once did Riley wonder why it was that Josh had been included in the group's activities over the summer. From dinner to fireworks on the Jersey Shore to Music in the Park on weekends, it was just kind of assumed that Josh was bringing up the rear. She'd even procured the correct amount of tickets to a movie after they returned from the Hamptons without asking him if he was coming.

Maya flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, barely missing smacking him in the face. "I told her that I set Luke up with Savannah." She argued with a noncommittal flick of her wrist. "Hell, I set him up with Adriana our senior year." Josh didn't have the mental Rolodex that Maya seemed to possess, but he knew that the only true girlfriend that Lucas had actually had after he and Maya started their arrangement was the Portuguese exchange student. "And of course you were coming to dinner with us."

He noted that she didn't have an active rebuttal for that. It was just apparently the way it was.

"Have you said anything else to her since the fourth?"

The noise that floated up from the back of her throat was guarded. "You're better at this than he is." She said in lieu of an answer.

"If that were true," Josh countered easily, "You would have just answered my question."

She nodded, dropping his hand to skip over a fallen log. "We just sort of dropped it." Josh slowed his gait, watching the back of her head carefully. "Or _I_ just sort of dropped it." Maya came to a complete stop, turning to face him with her arms crossing in front of her. "I've gotta admit, I'm leaning more toward the fight right now."

Josh deliberately didn't move. "No fight." He promised carefully, hands up in front of him. "I'm just wondering if this isn't a conversation that you should be having with somebody."

Her jaw clenched, and Maya took a deep breath. "Ask it."

"Why don't you want to tell Riley?"

More than once in his life, Josh had heard things referred to as the kind of train wreck a person couldn't look away from. He'd never really understood the concept until Maya's eyelids slammed shut. While this was the most likely end of what had promised to be an epic weekend, he had managed to ruin it with seven words.

Or maybe not.

Maya's heel tapped the dirt in rapid succession., her fingers twitching against her arms. "Because I can't lose her."

Josh gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. As little sense as it made when one took it at face value, Maya's sentence spoke volumes. She wasn't talking about Riley not being happy for them. Nor was she worried about the fact that Josh and Riley were family, and this would somehow come between them. This was self-preservation, which was something that Josh could wholeheartedly understand.

"Think I can get you to send me a few of those from the dune?" He nodded to her hip, and it took a bit longer than he anticipated for Maya to realize that he was gesturing to her phone.

The device was pulled from her pocket with physical relief. "Do you even know the word please?" She rolled her eyes with a flourish, thumbing the device on. Whatever she was about to say next was replaced with a groan. "Austin has pie!" Josh stepped up to her again, turning her around so she wasn't walking backward to the car. "Why don't I have pie?"

"You chose to go hiking." He reminded her with a laugh.

But the diminutive blonde would not be deterred. "Can we get pie?"

"You're ridiculous." He muttered again, checking his watch and calculating the odds of getting her to agree to a shower first. Before she could counter him again, Josh wrapped his arms around her, forcing both of them to stumble the last few feet to the end of the path. "And I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Up next:

 _"I think I fucked up."_

 _"That's all you've got? Huh?'"_

 _"I'm thinkin'."  
_


	42. Part XXIV: Please Don't Say You Love Me

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 2,640  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

The morning started out like every other.

Josh woke early, regardless of the fact that since he and the other junior architects had been pulling 16-hour days for the last two weeks in September, they'd been given the next two days off as a reward. He spent the next half hour in bed, something he blamed entirely on Maya. Somehow, she had curled so completely around him that climbing out to shower or locate his first cup of coffee was not only physically impossible. The very idea was entirely inconceivable.

The situation remedied itself when Maya's alarm went off, forcing the blonde to slither back to what they both seemed to actively avoid referring to as her side of bed.

She wasn't gentle as she smacked the nightstand a few times, locating her phone without opening her eyes. The noise stopped soon after, and Josh slid from the bed and into kitchen to start the coffee pot as Maya began to deal with the realization of morning. He had plenty of time to get in and out of the shower while the pot was brewing, making sure to take the caffeine directly to his bedmate before making one for himself – which led to a long mental conversation about how she functioned on the mornings that she didn't crash at his place – before watching her shuffle off to the shower on her own.

They grabbed breakfast on their way to the art campus, more because they could, rather than the fact that he had been eating out of paper cartons for the last two weeks. And Josh didn't even complain when Maya stole a third of one of his waffles and half of his grapefruit juice, even if she made faces at him for 'drinking the stuff' while doing it. This was the first time in weeks he actually got to interact with the world outside his office building -Maya notwithstanding, because let's face it, the girl showed up at midnight knowing full well that he wouldn't be there when she woke up, and didn't say a thing about it the next day– and he was looking forward to a late morning coffee with Austin before finally getting around to grocery shopping.

He didn't even mind the fact that his only real plan for his first day off in fourteen involved cleaning his apartment and doing laundry.

It didn't hurt that he was fairly certain that he would be spending the evening with his favorite blonde after all of that adulting.

"So, I was thinking about dinner," Josh's arm was slung low on her hips, his thumb rubbing the sensitive flesh right above her skirt. "There's an Alan Jay Lerner marathon on TCM tonight." He still wasn't entirely sure who to blame for her love of musicals. Although, it hadn't been predominant until after Shawn was a full-time presence in her life.

Maya smiled at the thought of curling up on the well-worn chaise Josh's apartment, watching Richard Burton dance around the screen. "Depends on what kind of dinner you're planning, Matthews." He really should have known that was coming. It wasn't in her nature to just agree to things. She seemed to hop before he could ask her opinion on Greek or Thai, sliding her hand down his arm. "I've gotta run or I'll be late." Shifting her bag on her shoulder, Maya allowed herself one more kiss before turning around. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Love you."

The words were out of Josh's mouth before he could stop himself, and Maya's step faltered, her eyes dropping shut. Behind her Josh was stuttering over himself, trying to retract his statement and explain himself, all at once.

Her head shook, and Josh watched her shove a shaking hand into the pocket of her jacket before booking it across the lawn.

 _Well shit._

* * *

"I think I fucked up."

In hindsight, the most amazing part of the entire situation was the fact that his brother didn't even seem fazed by his arrival to the apartment in the middle of the day. If anything, Josh was more amazed that he of all of the days for him to show up unannounced, he seemed to pick the one day where his brother and sister-in-law managed to get the day off from their respective places of business.

Josh actually had to double check to make sure Auggie and Dewy weren't sitting at the coffee table doing their homework.

"'Fucked up', you say?" Shawn was standing by the coffee pot, holding up an extra mug as if to ask Josh if he wanted one.

It appeared as if Josh had miscalculated just how much he could screw up in one day.

He didn't falter though, choosing instead to shrug off his jacket. He actually hung it up this time, before moving to the bench seat beside Topanga. "I can officially rent a car in all 50 states," Josh braced his elbows on the table and leaned into his hands. "I'm allowed to use the 'big boy' words when necessary."

Topanga leaned back slightly, trying to take in all of him. "You come in cursing like a teenager, and then you defend not deflect." She took his mug from Shawn, sliding it across the table. He wasn't sure what it was that she saw, but Josh was officially nervous. "Will this conversation also warrant day-drinking?"

"It's entirely possible that night-drinking will be required as well."

Shawn let out a low whistle, looking from Cory to Topanga and back. Every part of his stance was screaming that he was almost one hundred percent certain that he did not want to be here for this conversation.

But his pseudo-little brother apparently needed help, so Josh knew that there was no way that Shawn was actually going anywhere.

So instead, Shawn just watched as his best friend sat up and reached for his own mug.

"Is this about Maya?"

Up until now they had all done a pretty good job dodging that particular subject. Since the apology that most certainly wasn't, it had been the biggest non-issue that any of them had ever not discussed. But they'd watched, and they waited. The look currently gracing Shawn's face told Josh that the older man only hoped that this wasn't the moment that allowing Maya to tell him that it's none of his business and to keep Cory out of it wasn't about to bite him in the ass.

He took a healthy sip of Italian roast before slowly nodding. "Yeah."

Josh could just hear the gears revolving in the older man's head. He'd never been very good at being impartial to whatever relationship Josh and Maya had cultivated "What happened?" It was Topanga that spoke, patting an agitated Shawn's arm carefully.

And that, amazingly enough, was all it took for the situation to become somewhat less surreal. There was no blame here, no judgement. Topanga didn't ask what he did. She didn't ask about Maya specifically, or even if Josh himself was okay. Topanga focused on the immediate, and thankfully enough, that was a question that Josh could answer.

"I accidently told Maya I love her."

Had the room been this quiet when he'd arrived?

Josh supposed that that was better than everyone offering up their opinion all at once.

Cory was the first to recover, nodding slowly to himself. "Was the accident what you said, or that you said it?"

"I can't even get her to admit the possibility that we might actually be in a relationship." Once the words were out of his mouth, Josh realized that he had both bypassed and answered his brother's question at the same time. "There is no way in hell that I would consciously consider actually telling her that I've fallen in love with her." There was a very loud thud when Josh dropped his forehead to the kitchen table.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that she didn't react favorably?"

There wasn't a person in the room that wouldn't have admitted that the look Josh threw Topanga was completely justified.

Because seriously, would he be sitting at his brother's kitchen table, imagining all of the ways that his life had gone so terribly wrong in the last eight hours if Maya had reacted favorably?

"My fuckup occurred around eleven this morning." Josh announced harshly. He had kept his coffee with Austin, although instead of getting a morning to spend some quality time with his best friend, Josh rehashed the last handful of hours and allowed Austin to try to convince him that one Freudian Slip hadn't just cost him what could have possibly have been the love of his life. "She's not returning calls or texts, and I have absolutely no idea where she is right now."

Both men sitting at the table with him reached for their phones at exactly the same time. There was a fleeting thought in the back of Josh's mind that if either of them thought that talking to Riley was going to give them answers, they were sorely mistaken.

This was 'best friend' territory, of that there was no doubt. But he'd already texted Riley asking if she had heard from Maya –under the guise that she had left some sort of vague art paraphernalia at his place when he helped her with her math the night before, and he thought she may need it for class- and all he'd gotten back was that there was some sorority thing this week and she hadn't had much time to touch base with the blonde.

"Riley hasn't spoken to her."

And it was as if they were one person again, dropping their phones to the table with matching sighs.

Shawn waited a beat, his eyes catching Josh's across the table before snatching his droid off the table again. He scrolled through the contacts for a second longer than should have been necessary before putting the phone to his ear. The call rang twice before being sent to voicemail, which made him smile slightly. "Hey man, it's Shawn. Gimmie a call when you get this." He paused, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I'm having a hard time getting in touch with Maya, and I thought that you may have heard from her." He waited a beat, trying to decide whether or not he had just made the right decision, before hitting the 'end' button and setting his phone back down.

When his sister-in-law cocked an eyebrow at the older man, and Shawn answered with a shake of his own head, Josh realized that there was one person that he probably should have tried before he reached out to his niece.

It was immediately followed by the unreasonable and irrational anger that came with the thought that in this situation –just like all of the emotionally difficult ones that had come before- Maya would have reached out to Lucas Friar before she put herself in the position to talk to him again.

An emotion that he apparently telegraphed to the entire room.

"They've always-" Shawn cut himself off bluntly. Josh neither knew what train of thought he was following nor cared. "And he knows her."

He most certainly did.

Not that that sentence lessened the knot forming in Josh's chest at the moment.

Josh had no choice but to blame himself for a whole new round of thoughts flittering through his brain at that very moment. Had he confronted Maya about this earlier, when she'd actually started to become conscious of exactly what he was feeling, then this entire mess would be out in the open. While it might not have been conducive to their non-relationship lasting as long as it had, the truth would have been out there, and he wouldn't have to deal with the fleeting thought that Maya would lash out. He wouldn't be sitting there wondering if he'd just driven her back to what she considered safe. Had he forced the issue with her telling his niece, then Maya would have had somewhere else to go with whatever was running through her own mind.

"Uh, I'm sorry." Topanga broke through his mental tirade with a raised hand and pursed lips. "Are we not going to address that Josh _actually_ told Maya that he's in love with her?"

Cory's mouth shot open, and Josh could just hear the admonishment that a missing person trumped declarations of love. Then he physically stuttered, as if he too realized that Maya wasn't going to be found until she decided to be, and that if she was truly in trouble the would know it. His eyes widened incredulously, and Cory's eyes flitted from his wife to his brother.

"Huh."

This was what insanity felt like.

Josh had finally, officially crossed over to actual Cory Matthews territory, and the only thought that his older brother was capable of producing was, 'huh'.

"That's it?" Josh forced a breath into his longs and took another sip of his coffee. "All you've got? Huh?"

Cory's hands came up defensively. "I'm thinkin'." He squeaked frantically. "I wasn't expecting to have this conversation with you today." Or ever, his vibrant shrug told the room he was trying to refrain from saying aloud. Falling for Maya Hart came with its own set of rules, and Cory's blank stare gave every indication that up until now, he thought that Josh was fully aware of that.

"What happened to Mr. 'Boy Meets World'?" Topanga was grateful that Josh's mug was empty when he threw his own hands in the air. "You dispensed life advice to a three-year-old, man." Another look, and Cory smiled at the memory of them sitting on the back patio of their parent's house many years ago. "You have _nothing_ to give me now?"

"I gots lots to give ya," Cory announced, standing and reaching for his brother's mug. He dropped it and his own into the sink and jerked the fridge door open to retrieve two beers. Both tops were popped, and Cory handed one directly to his brother. "None of which actually applies when you factor in that the woman in question is _Maya_."

Josh couldn't say that Cory wasn't at least honest.

Without realizing it, Josh's lower lip was pulled almost entirely between his teeth. "That's comforting." He wasn't aware that he had actually spoken aloud, and if he had been, he wouldn't have cared.

"That's not what he meant." Topanga stood next, bracing herself on the tabletop. "Okay, that's _exactly_ what he meant." She backtracked, pushing off the wood to refill her coffee mug. "But that doesn't mean that there isn't some advice for you." She looked to Shawn, who definitely wanted to be anywhere but the Matthews kitchen table at that very moment. "Somewhere."

Taking a long swig of his drink, Josh laughed mirthlessly. "We don't get to do this the easy way, do we?"

The question was rhetorical. Shawn gave a slow nod of understanding, and Cory's smile turned grim. It wasn't necessarily the truth. Mathematically speaking, three-fifths of the Matthews clan got their happily ever after without too much fuss. His parents had fallen in love easily, if his dad was to be believed. Morgan and her husband met in college, their relationship coming together seamlessly while they both studied for their doctorates. And Cory… well, Josh supposed, no one's romance was ever going to match Cory and Topanga.

After all, who finds the one person they're supposed to be with in kindergarten?

Josh stifled another laugh, this one sardonic as he glanced from his brother to Shawn. Not that Josh actually believed in soulmates, but Cory had been handed two perfect life companions when he was just barely old enough to spell his own name.

"Some people get all the luck," he murmured to himself.

* * *

This one was a short one, but I promise three VERY long chapters after it.

Prediction time: What do YOU think is going to happen?

* * *

Up Next:

"I'm also fairly certain that my AOC TA thinks that someone's dead."

"I think I know a Freudian Slip when I hear one."


	43. Interlude: Army

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,850  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Short Author's Note: Who's ready to hate me? More reviews means faster updates.

* * *

His phone goes off three times within a ten-minute window late one Thursday morning, and Lucas is incredibly thankful that he had actually remembered to turn off the ringer before he entered the lecture hall.

Maya was supposed to be learning about Russian painters, but instead she's crying unintelligibly into his voicemail, and he races across campus to tell his Anatomy of the Carnivore TA that he's had a family emergency, that he'll call to schedule time he's going to be missing, and log in extra lab time to make up for it. All of his professors adore him, so it's no surprise that he's told to take care of what he needs to, and to call if he's going to miss the next class. Lucas's bag is packed and he's on the road before noon.

It would be a new record if he cared to keep track of these things.

All of his texts to Maya are unviewed and unanswered. A quick call confirms that she'd turned the device off, and he takes a quick breath before he calmly asks her to return to call whenever she gets a chance. And then he starts fishing. The handful of texts he sends Farkle are different than the ones that go to Riley –thank you speech to text for allowing him to remain hands free- and he's forced to focus on traffic instead of the lack of response from either when he hits road construction on the other side of Binghamton.

It's more than a little unnerving when he gets the classic 'everything is fine, Maya and I FaceTimed last night' message, which tells him absolutely nothing now. He tries Maya's phone a handful of times before giving up and finally just texting her. Lucas keeps it short, he's en route and would appreciate a phone call telling him that she's not dying.

Then it's a call to his Mama at work to let her know that he's coming in for the weekend –forgoing the actual reason why- and making sure that there's a spot to park his truck when he arrives.

He has a four-and-a-half-hour drive to try not to go crazy, and he's not entirely sure he succeeds.

* * *

The lights of the city greet him twenty minutes before five, and he goes to Shawn's apartment first. The man who could be her father has been out of the country for the last week, and it doesn't even cross his mind that the only other place in the city that Maya sleeps regularly is Josh's.

There's an open spot on the street, which is a miracle in and of itself, and Lucas doesn't bother to unload his truck. Instead, he waves to Miss Hester –who was still trying to hide her habit from her kids by smoking out of her second story window- and running up the stairwell to Shawn's floor. The spare key is where it always is, Velcroed to the top of the bright red fire alarm on the wall by the stairwell, and lets himself in without even bothering to knock.

Two steps into the apartment and he was suddenly very glad he didn't.

The entire place was dark save Shawn's flat screen, which was tuned to one musical or another, the sound down low. The upside to the discovery was that he now understood that whatever had prompted the phone call was emotional, not physical. There was a small part of Lucas that was at least glad about that.

Emotional he could handle.

His initial sweep of the room, or as close to one as he could get standing halfway in the front door, came up empty. He stepped back and closed the door softly, before moving to drop the spare key onto the counter. The music swelled, and he realized that the shadow on the couch wasn't being caused by the change in light from Richard Harris dancing with Vanessa Redgrave on the screen. It was more like the human buried under a navy-blue comforter.

She was balled up on the longest part of the sectional, her arms pillowed under her head. She sniffled lightly, and Lucas watched her scrub her hand over her wet face.

"Your message was not at all cryptic or vague," he started slowly, moving around the leather monstrosity. Maya didn't even blink. He let out another long breath and dropped himself down to the floor near her head. "I'm also fairly certain that my AOC TA thinks that someone's dead."

Still no response.

She sniffled, so low that had Lucas not been looking for movement, he probably wouldn't have heard her. "Maya?" His hand came up of its own volition, running over her hair as he settled himself more fully on the floor. "Darlin', I'm gonna need you to talk to me." He started with what he hoped was the easy question. "Are you hurt?"

Her head shook slowly. It was almost as if she had to double check that she wasn't.

He opened his mouth to ask if anyone else was and froze. Of course, she wasn't hurt. If there had been another accident, her first call would have been to Mr. Matthews or Shawn, and Riley would have certainly known about it. And she certainly wouldn't be alone in Tribeca after the fact.

"How's school?" He tried carefully.

Maya at least looked straight at him before rolling her eyes.

Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet and kicked off his shoes. Maya didn't move any other muscle as he climbed up into the wedge of the sectional. Once he was situated, Lucas stretched out the leg closest to the back of the couch and reached into the blanket, sliding one hand down to grab her hip while the other cupped her armpit. Maya didn't even bother to protest as he pulled her up the couch gently; trying to make sure that he didn't jostle her any more than absolutely necessary.

The weight on his chest was comfortably familiar, a reminder of what it felt like a lifetime ago. Lucas couldn't actually remember the last time they had found themselves in this situation. It had to have been at least back in January, before she and Josh-

The train of thought was kind enough to pull all the way into the station, and Lucas felt like a monumental idiot. He had been so wrapped up in Maya, so concerned that she needed him, he hadn't even thought of the man who was normally right by her side. Matthews should have been his first call when he'd gotten into the car and discovered her phone had been off. And instead he hadn't even crossed Lucas's mind. If Maya was here, and Josh was not, there was a very real chance that whatever was bothering her was directly related to him. Even more so if Riley was unaware. Which begged the question why didn't Josh try to reach out to him? Did he think Maya would? Did he forget about him as easily as Lucas seemed to overlook about Josh?

As if she notices his sudden disquiet, Maya tucks her feet more under herself, settling her body more fully in his lap. She fit the top of her head into the hollow of his throat and sighs. There's a fleeting moment where Lucas wonders if he could get to his phone without jostling her, before he gives up and drops a kiss to the crown of her head, hoping the rest of her would relax soon.

There wasn't a correct measurement of time for how long they lay there, the petite blonde wrapped around him. Scenes changed, Lancelot betrayed Arthur, everyone sang about it, and finally, Maya's limbs started getting heavier. It was another minute before her breath slowed and her shoulders stopped shaking.

"Thank you."

They were the first official words she had said to him all day. Her voice was soft, but firm and Lucas watches the shadows play in her eyes before she fully tilts her head up to attempt a smile.

Lucas wraps both arms more fully around her, his hand never ceasing its course down her torso to her hip and back again. "Of course." He allowed her another breath before dropping his lips to her forehead. "Now do you feel like telling me why I ditched three classes to watch a digitally remastered Broadway musical that's older than the both of us?"

Her silence stated that no, she didn't feel like it. The shudder that went through her as she pulled her bottom lip so thoroughly into her mouth, he could no longer see the corners told him that she really wished he hadn't even brought it up again. But she closed her eyes, pulled herself forward, and turned, allowing him to steady her with both hands as she shifted so she was facing him.

When she didn't speak, Lucas dipped his head, catching her eye. "What happened with Josh?"

"He said it." She offered gently, studiously avoiding his gaze.

Frustratingly, those three words didn't hint to any possible outcome that would result in Maya blowing off an entire day of responsibilities and spending hours in a dark room crying.

He thought about calling her on it. Reminding her that a vague disclaimer was no one's friend. After all, he had been in his truck and on the road with no questions asked. The least she could do was give him some idea why it was necessary.

But she gave her head a little shake when she saw the look bloom in his eyes, and she chewed on her lip again as she collected her thoughts. "This morning," she paused, eyes fluttering shut. "We –He had the day off because he'd been working so hard on the Wilson project, so he walked me to the art campus because he was going to have coffee with Austin while I was meeting with Torreano." Lucas had been well aware of the proposal that Josh had spent the last two weeks putting together. Maya had studiously attempted to give him space, which meant picking up more than a few extra shifts at _Topanga's_ and ridiculous conversations in the middle of the afternoon because she was forcing herself not to text Josh. "I kissed him," she was stumbling over her words now, and for some reason it was suddenly very clear as to what Matthews said that caused this reaction. "And when I told him that I would see him tonight-" Her voice hitched painfully.

"He told you he loved you."

It wasn't a question, which was good because Maya's entire body shuddered and Lucas shifted his hands from her hips to her shoulders, pulling her down into a full body hug. He had to give the man credit; if he'd wanted to test the strength of whatever it was that he and Maya had, Josh had done a spectacular job.

He allowed himself a second to speculate whether or not it had been a conscious decision on Matthews part.

Amazingly enough, those three words also did more than explain the quivering, frantic mass of Maya Hart currently curled up on his lap. Because there were currently eight people on the planet that Maya thought she could count on to love her unconditionally. And upping it by one, without her consent, wasn't something that she took lightly.

Generally speaking, it wasn't actually something that she took at all.

She'd been quiet a little too long, which said way more than she probably thought it would. "Did you do anything other than run far away incredibly fast?" He inquired casually, brushing the hair out of her face.

It took about a second and a half before Maya popped up indignantly. "I actually went to the meeting with Torreano." She looked impossibly proud of herself, choosing academic accomplishment over a personal meltdown, and Lucas returned her smile.

"Then you took a cab here and effectively cut yourself off from the world?" That much was pretty obvious when he took in the fact that she hadn't eaten –or probably moved- since she curled herself up on the couch.

"I called you, didn't I?" Maya ran a hand through her hair and frowned.

Lucas kissed her forehead again, pulling her down into another hug. "That you did."

There is absolutely no surprise at all that her immediate plans only seem to include making sure the volume is turned up when My Fair Lady begins to play on the screen. Whatever network they're watching is being sponsored by half a dozen brands, so there aren't any commercials, and he finds it easy to ignore the banners displayed at the bottom of the screen. Lucas makes it to Intermission before he pulls himself out from under his best friend to use the restroom, forage for food, and finally locate his phone.

He's got a voicemail from Shawn that he hides in the kitchen to listen to, asking him if he's heard from Maya and to call him back. He doesn't, but that has more to do with the fact that Maya's been slowly paying more attention to him than the movie in front of her. Instead he pops off a text message saying that he's talked to her and that she's all right. Lucas has no idea what Shawn knows, and he's not planning on giving the older man anything to worry about while he's still on assignment. The blonde on the couch is actively staring at him when he finally gives up trying to come up with something to send to Josh. It probably won't help anything he's currently going through to alert him that he'd made it to town anyway.

Rex Harrison laments the loss of Audrey Hepburn when her stomach finally grumbles. It's loud and obnoxious, and Lucas finally has enough ammunition to pull up the app on his phone and force her to pick what she's eating for dinner. It's the most substantial conversation they've had since Maya admitted to why she was in hiding, and Lucas decides not to push.

In the end, they order entirely too much food.

Maya can't decide between Chinese and or a burger, so Lucas orders both, shrugging off the offer of her debit card when he goes to pay.

The first time Maya leaves her couch cocoon is to use the restroom. They're about twenty minutes into An American in Paris, and there are food cartons strewn over almost every flat surface in the living room save the floor –Lucas isn't counting the abnormally large bag of egg rolls that Maya insisted that they needed- and Maya doesn't bother asking him to try to pause is as she trudges down the hall toward her room.

She finally turns her phone back on an hour later, flipping the ringer off and dropping in onto the love seat so she doesn't have to hear it buzz for every message or phone call she missed. Lucas notices that she doesn't reach for it again, perfectly content to know that if anyone needed her she was now reachable again, yet still very much removed from the messages that were currently awaiting her.

He's pretty sure that that means he has his work cut out for him.

* * *

It's nearly eleven when Shawn lets himself in to his apartment. Lucas startles as the sound of the key in the lock, but goes back to his laptop when he realizes what the sound means. The spare key is still on the counter, which means the person on the other side had to already possess one, which narrows the candidates greatly. The older man isn't really paying attention to his surroundings as he drops his keys into the bowl and rolls his suitcase up to the counter. His eyes graze the takeout still sprawled across the island, but he doesn't move to check to see what exactly is in the cartons.

He doesn't expect to see Lucas sitting at his dining room table though, textbooks spread out and his laptop booted. Lucas had resumed his position of his head propped in one hand, highlighter splayed between the fingers on the other as he finished a note on cell regeneration without looking at the screen.

It says something that Shawn isn't surprised to see him.

Unprepared, perhaps, but not surprised.

"Aren't you supposed to be in England?" Lucas still hasn't looked up from the notebook balanced between his elbows.

"Ireland," the older man shrugged off his jacket absently, dropping it onto the kitchen island along with an unneeded scarf. "Assignment wrapped early and I got a better flight in." Both men nodded. "Aren't you supposed to be in Ithaca?"

Lucas finally turns away from his notes, dropping the highlighter into the middle of his textbook to keep his place. "Something tells me you already know why I'm not." When Shawn opened his mouth –whether to protest or profess he was right, neither knew- Lucas nodded to the far corner of the living room. "Maya's in the shower."

Nodding for a moment, Shawn suddenly seemed out of place. "I take it you're staying here tonight?" His arm vaguely gestured to the rest of the apartment before he turned and wandered over to the fridge.

"I think that was Maya's plan, sir." And Lucas didn't even have to pretend not to be able to interpret the aggravated tension in Shawn's shoulders at his last word. "But my mama knows I'm in town," he was quick to point out. "So, if you have a problem with it, I can always go to Gramercy."

"How's she doing?"

Lucas wasn't sure if he was supposed to address the non-answer to his half-asked query. "She's Maya," he breathed out next, cocking his head to the side to make sure the shower was still running. Lucas contemplated his next sentence as he took a draw from his coffee mug. "I've been here since five, sir, and this is the first time I've actually gotten her to leave the couch for more than two minutes."

And it was suddenly very apparent that Shawn didn't mind if he stayed. There was no way that he could actually do that to Maya. "You here for the whole weekend?" He said instead of whatever it was he had planned. It was pushing midnight now, and there wasn't any possibility that he would pack up and go in time for Friday classes. Lucas nodded, some version of 'yes sir' already on his lips when Shawn nodded again. "You might want to prepare your mom for the fact that you two are probably going to be a packaged deal for a few days."

"I think she already knows that." Lucas swallowed the 'sir' and turned back to his laptop for a moment. When he looked up, Shawn was on the other side of the counter, sorting through his mail. "If you don't mind me asking," Shawn's eyebrows rose cautiously. "How's Josh?"

There was a moment when Shawn just stared at him.

It wasn't that Lucas couldn't ask for himself. He and Josh may not trade texts with the frequency that he did with the others, but they still talked. But something about it just hadn't felt right. Not to mention Maya hadn't been more than an arm's length away from him for the bulk of the night. Yes, her shower was slightly longer than usual, but it wasn't started until ten thirty at night, and if Josh had managed to get any rest after the blonde has so superbly shut him out, Lucas wasn't going to break it.

There were a million and one things that Shawn seemed to want to say. "Terrified," he settled, his eyes catching Lucas's. The younger man couldn't help his knowing nod. "Your text helped." He admitted with a shrug of his own. "But he's not entirely sure where he gets to go from here."

It was probably putting it lightly. If their positions were reversed, Lucas would most likely be second-guessing every interaction he had ever had with Maya. "It's not gonna be easy."

The shower shut off behind him.

He definitely did not envy the man. Falling for Maya was easy. To Lucas, it had almost felt like breathing. Getting her to allow you to love her was an entirely different fight. He still wasn't sure how they had managed their current friendship. Looking back at where they were a year ago, Lucas could swear that the only real difference was that he was no longer her first thought when she needed something, present situation excluded, and –well- they were no longer sleeping together.

And this was probably the first time he had actually allowed himself that thought.

"He's going to have to be patient with her." Lucas has no idea why he said it out loud, or why Shawn didn't seem surprised.

"He knows that." Shawn nodded to the bathroom door two seconds before it flew open.

The Maya that went into the bathroom was at least physically different than the Maya that emerged. Clad in yoga pants and a Cornell hoodie that Lucas could have sworn was still in his car –forget the fact that he had bought her her own zip up sweatshirt sometime last year- with her hair pulled away from her freshly scrubbed face. She'd also opted for her glasses, which told him that she'd most likely broke down in the shower.

There was an extra pep in her step, or at least she was moving more easily than she had when Lucas had insisted she shower. There was a small smile when she realized that Shawn was standing in the dining room as well. "You're back early."

Accepting Maya's hug was always easy. Shawn dropped a kiss to her forehead carefully. "Things ran more smoothly than planned," he offered. Lucas noted the way he threw a look over her head to pointedly note that none of what they'd mentioned before was to be brought up. Maya didn't need to know that he had technically been home for hours, spending the bulk of the day with his best friend. "I missed my bed."

"With as much as you paid for it," Maya skirted him now. "I'd miss it too." Lucas watched as Maya and Shawn tilted their heads in the same direction and smiled sarcastically. "Luke's gonna be here for a few days." She threw out the words on her way to the fridge. Maya returned to the island with a bottle of water, popping open a paper bag to make sure they still contained the eggrolls she'd left there earlier.

The men exchanged another look.

"Skipping over the fact that he has a perfectly good bedroom less than three miles away," Shawn snagged an eggroll out of the box as Maya passed him. "Where exactly were you planning on putting him tonight, kiddo?" Even as the words left his mouth, Shawn seemed to know what her answer would entail. "There are only two bedrooms in this joint."

"He fits just fine in my bed."

It was a sentence that both men were actively hoping wouldn't actually come out of her mouth, if for entirely different reasons.

"There are so many things wrong with that, Maya Penelope. I have no idea where to start."

The blonde didn't even bother looking over her shoulder as she dropped herself into the seat opposite Lucas at the table. "Your mind is the only one that jumped to sex." She used an eggroll to gesture between herself and Lucas. "It's entirely possible for members of the opposite sex to just sleep next to each other." A third of the roll disappeared into Maya's mouth. "Rumor has it, it happens all the time."

"I can take the couch, sir." Lucas snapped his laptop shut. He wasn't likely to get anything else done now that Maya was out of the shower. He honestly hadn't thought anything about where he would sleep up until Shawn pointed it out. He and Maya had shared a room in the Hamptons over the summer and it hadn't been a big deal. The situation may have gotten a bit more complicated, but that was a line neither one would cross, and he wasn't sure how to express that if that was really what Shawn was thinking.

Shawn took a sip of his water and shrugged. "That would definitely be a first." They shared another look over Maya's head and he finally shook his own. "You can sleep where you'd like, Friar. We're all adults here."

"How much did it hurt for that one to come out of your mouth?" Maya was actually paying attention to them now.

Shawn seemed to catch on to the fact that Maya was smiling again, which he seemed to suppose was the entire point of Lucas Friar being in his home in the first place. "You don't really want to know." He bent down slowly to press another kiss to Maya's forehead. "Make good choices, I'm going to bed."

Maya's smile faded slightly, her eyes shifting to the back of Shawn's head. "Night Shawn."

"Good night, Mr. Hunter," Lucas saluted.

The second Shawn's bedroom door shut, it was like the last four hours never happened. Maya pulled both of her legs into the chair with her, arm wrapping around her knees as she finished off the roll in her hand.

Lucas knew what the next sentence out of her mouth even before Maya spoke,

"Do you think he knows something?"

At this point, Lucas had two options. He could tell her the truth, that as far as he could piece together, Shawn had spent the better part of the evening at the Matthews house, and that he not only knew about what Josh had said but how not well Josh was handling it. Or he could lie.

"I think that Shawn is Mr. Matthew's best friend," he said carefully.

Maya glared at the last eggroll in the bag before pushing it across the table. "And we all know Matthews can't keep his mouth shut." He was actually grateful that he understood she was talking about the older. She frowned at her water bottle too, suddenly too tired to reach for it. "This is ridiculous," she decided with a shrug. "Yet another reason why I'm an idiot for letting my stupid feelings get me involved with Joshua Matthews."

"Don't do that." Lucas wasn't sure what compelled him to move to her side of the table. "Do _not_ do that." He pulled Maya's feet from the chair, his hands splaying on her knees. "There is no part of you that's an idiot or stupid for doing something that made you happy."

Her scoff wasn't gentle, her eyes rolling harsher.

"And you can't tell me that being with Josh didn't make you happy." One hand slid over her mouth before she could protest. "I have two eyes, Maya, and six months' worth of text messages." Her eyebrows rose and Lucas nodded. "I think you forget that I've been here since the beginning of this whole mess."

"Even _you're_ calling it a mess." Maya latched on that word and pushed his hand away. She was out of the chair before Lucas could stop her, bracing both hands on the counter as if gearing up for an argument. "And you've 'been here since the beginning'." She spat back at him.

"You're the damned mess!"

That was not the sentence that Lucas had planned on following that up with.

It wasn't even close.

Well, it was good to know that Josh wasn't the only one capable of sticking his foot in his mouth when it came to Maya Hart.

The girl in question was no longer bracing herself on the counter, she'd recoiled so her back was against the sink. She took a steadying breath, her eyes bright, and Lucas pulled himself off of the floor to stand in front of her.

"I'm sorry," he practically whispered. "I'm tired, and we've both had a long day."

If it were physically possible, Maya probably would have shrunk further into the counter. "I know a Freudian Slip when I hear one, Luke." She raised her chin just enough so he could see her eyes. "You think I'm a mess."

He could have backtracked further. But that wouldn't help anyone. "Are you trying to tell me you're not?" Lucas took another step towards her, his hand out. "Maya, you've spent twelve hours on that couch over there because someone happened to tell you that they loved you." His arm moved of its own volition to gesture to the living area.

She opened her mouth to rebuff his assessment, and frowned when she realized she couldn't.

"You are brilliant and charming, and unequivocal," her eyes rolled. "I think you've got the scariest sense of humor that I've ever seen, and watching you sketch or paint is like watching you explode!" She shrunk then, her arms coming up to guard her. "But for some reason, you seem to think that no one cares about any of these things." When Maya shifted on the balls of her feet, Lucas ran a hand up her arm. "Somewhere along the way, you started to think that anyone who tells you that they want you in their life –that isn't Riley Matthews- is going to pack up and move on the second you get comfortable, no matter what you do or how you are, so you're just not going to give them a chance to try to stay. So yeah, you're a bit of a mess."

"I don't push," she started dumbly. "I just-"

"How many times did you cancel on your mom when you thought she was about to cancel on you when she stopped working at the diner?" Lucas quirked an eyebrow at her. "How often did you not even bother to ask for something because you were scared that there wouldn't be the money for it, or that your mom would get upset? And don't get me started on how you stonewalled Shawn when he finally moved to the city." A roll of her eyes told Lucas he was on the right track. Shawn may have had infinite patience when dealing with a young Maya because of the way he grew up, but she made him prove he was sticking around at every turn. "God knows you did it with me in high school with that friends with benefits shit. And all I wanted to do was _date_ you." Her lip quivered, and Lucas brushed his fingers against her shoulder. Maya was trying so hard not to blink back the tears. "But can I let you in on a secret?" Blue eyes flicked down to the floor. "Just because people aren't allowed to tell you that they love you doesn't mean that they don't feel it.

"And all three of us are still here."

Her face contorted, and Lucas got his arms out of the way just in time for her to crush her face to his chest to hide her tears.

"You're right." Lucas couldn't tell how long they stood like that in the kitchen before Maya pulled away from him. "It's been a really long day."

This was her out.

Maya may have let him say his piece, but she needed some time to process what he'd said. And after his mini-diatribe, Lucas couldn't deny her that. "At least you didn't spend part of it in traffic." He threw out just to make her laugh. "Have I been relegated to the couch now?" He asked as he purposefully ignored the way she wiped her eyes and reached for her water bottle.

"Will I be incredibly selfish if I say no?" She was shaking, and he didn't know if she noticed it. "I kind of need you close tonight."

Stepping back to shut his laptop, Lucas caught up to Maya on her way past the couch to her door. "Okay ma'am," his drawl was deeper than it usually was, and he watched her smile spread. "But you need to know that I've had a very difficult day, and I'm a little delicate."

Maya pulled the hoodie off and hung it on the back of her desk chair before reaching over and practically tearing Lucas's flannel shirt from his shoulders. "Delicate, you say?" She slid into his lap, and Lucas let her wrap her arms around his shoulders playfully. He still had his t-shirt on, and she'd probably hit him if he pointed out that their current position wouldn't help her situation any.

"Yes, ma'am." He said instead. With one fluid movement, Lucas lifted her up and set her down on what had always been her side of the bed. "And if you think that I'm going to let you take advantage of me because you're in a vulnerable position yourself, I'll tie you to the bed to prove you wrong."

Her smile didn't waiver. "I know." She didn't bat an eye as he stood up to shed his jeans before hitting the lights. Maya did scoot further to the side of the bed just long enough for him to slip under the covers, not waiting for him to lift an arm before snuggling into his bulk. "Pretty sure that's why I love you."

"Because I refuse to let you make rash decisions?" Lucas kissed the top of her head, a smile tugging at his own lips. He was pretty sure that he heard her murmur 'Mr. Moral Compass' into his shirt. "I'm kind of okay with that." He didn't have to tell her he loved her too. He was pretty sure it was implied. "Now get some sleep."

* * *

Coming Soon:

"You're a nudge, Hopalong. I could have sworn that we had some sort of agreement that I can deal with this my way. Which –and stop me if I'm wrong- should _not_ include ambiguous references laced in intro to psych terms."

"Technically I'm taking Introduction to Personality-"

* * *

"You do realize that you started all of this shit, don't you?"

* * *

"If I were any other guy, you would have done me a _huge_ favor this week."


	44. Interlude: Prince of Nothing Charming

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,387  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

Very Short Author's Note: We're gonna have to talk about you lot jumping to conclusions here. Just because I'm curious, when you submit your reviews, drop a comment on who's team you're on.

* * *

"Do you know that there's actually a word for this?" Lucas hadn't looked up from his laptop in the last few minutes, choosing instead to watch Maya out of the corner of his eye.

They did absolutely nothing on Friday.

Maya slept in while Lucas remoted into his nine am class thanks to a TA with a technology grant. After breakfast, they wandered around Central Park. Maya had deliberately left her cell at the house, so it was up to Lucas to keep her entertained while she pretended to be a tourist. Dinner came from a food truck, and Lucas treated her to a midnight showing of an action movie that he barely remembered.

There was absolutely no discussion of the previous day. Lucas honestly didn't try, and Maya didn't offer, and they operated under the assumption that when Maya felt like talking about it, they would

It was Maya that was up early on Saturday, venturing out to get coffee for both of them before pulling a newly prepped canvas out of the closet and situating herself by the window. She had dropped her silence long enough to lament the 'loss' of the canvas that she had been working on the week prior before diving head first into her newest creation.

He was pretty sure she was actively ignoring him now.

"A word for what?" The blonde in question tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and eyed her canvas judgmentally.

"Philophobia," another beat, and Lucas didn't have to look up at her to know that she had just gestured vaguely in his direction to speed up his train of thought. "It's the condition in which someone's afraid of the idea of calling in love or emotional attachment."

There was a noncommittal noise from the back of her throat, and Lucas was reminded of her aggravation when they'd played the definition game in Rome.

Then Maya turned slowly, pulling the paintbrush from its place between her teeth. She leveled it in his general direction, eyebrow quirking. "I honestly can't tell whether or not you just made that word up."

"Would I do something like that?" He wasn't about to tell her that it had come from one of the word of the day emails that Farkle had been sending them all since the days of PSAT prep. He was well aware that the genius tailored the word to the person, so he was pretty sure that Maya hadn't received that particular email.

"You're a nudge, Hopalong." Maya slid the brush back between her teeth long enough to reach for the sponge to dab the green she had just placed on the canvas. "I could have sworn that we had some sort of agreement that I can deal with this my way. Which –and stop me if I'm wrong- should not include ambiguous references laced in intro to psych terms."

"Technically I'm taking Introduction to Personality-" Lucas nodded in her direction, his eyes returning to his laptop screen.

"A course that I'm still trying to figure out why someone who's majoring in Veterinary Medicine needs in his life." The brush dropped handle first into one of the mason jars that lined her easel. "And somewhere in all of this is a point," Maya's finger looped in a circle, gesticulating to the room. "I would really appreciate it if you got to it."

Lucas shook his head. He made a show of flipping a page in his textbook. "There's no point."

Sighing, Maya wiped her hands on the rag draped on the corner of her easel. Lucas watched her in his periphery as she moved across the room, dropping herself onto the couch next to him. He forcibly stilled himself when she brought one leg up onto the cushion between them. "Do you remember back in high school when I told you that you had no poker face?" Lucas didn't get a chance to rebuff that his poker face was just fine, she just had a bad habit of being able to read him. "It hasn't changed."

"I head back tomorrow, Shortstack." It was Lucas's turn to reach out to her, running a hand through the hair on her shoulder. "And if we don't actually talk about this, I'm going to be forced to call Riley on the way and be intentionally ambiguous enough for her to come down here and figure this shit out."

It was more or less an empty threat.

Or at least it had been.

But just like that, Maya's entire body was on edge again. "Yes." She stuttered. "Because telling Riley that I'm seeing a guy I've never told her about and freaking out because he may or may not have told me that he loved me is both the best thing for our friendship and my sanity."

"I don't think hiding in Shawn's apartment and praying for time to rewind is doing a hell of a lot for that last part." Lucas closed his laptop, dropping it onto the unused part of the sectional.

She wanted to say that she wasn't hiding. After all, they had been out and about just yesterday. He was already planning his rebuttal, pointing out that they didn't go anywhere south of Bleecker, and nowhere that Josh just might wind up.

"I get it," she said instead, sliding away from him and pulling her knees to her chest. "I actually do get it."

"You do realize that agreeing with me isn't going to get you out of this conversation?" Lucas ran a hand through her hair carefully. "I let it go Thursday because neither of us was prepared to figure this out, and you got to ignore it yesterday because you needed to get out of your own head." Maya's head jerked, and Lucas dropped his hand for the illusion that he was giving her distance. "But if I keep letting you off the hook, you're never going to deal with this, and you're going to think it's okay to keep running."

She was on her feet in seconds, practically springing across the room just to turn and pace back. "No one's running," she announced sardonically. "And I still haven't gotten bonus points for that one!"

"You've also been ignoring anyone that hasn't stepped foot inside this apartment." Lucas pointed to the canvas in the corner and the counter where her phone sat still turned off. "Running from a problem doesn't mean you have to physically go anywhere."

"I'm not sure where this sudden therapist kick came from," Maya spun again, and Lucas swore under his breath. He'd struck a nerve, and she was second away from lashing out. Nothing about this conversation was going the way he had hoped it would. "But if this is how the rest of tonight is going to go, you can spend it at your parents."

Oh, how he wished he had the ability to pack up his laptop, grab his overnight bag and be on his way.

But Lucas had spent quite a few years of his life learning to read Maya Hart. And just because something came out of her mouth, didn't mean that she actually meant it. She had no more desire to be alone than he did to leave her. Because if he left, she would have nothing but her canvas and her thoughts to keep her company.

It also didn't mean that if he didn't find a new approach, she would actually kick him out of Shawn's apartment with what was physically on his person.

"Okay." He blew a breath from between his lips and popped them together. "I'll make you a deal." Lucas crossed his arms against his chest, eyeing the blonde with a curious glare. "If you answer one question –straightforward. I mean you have to honestly answer me- I will give up my right to further questioning and let you run and hide and handle this however you feel you need to."

Had she not been so excited that Lucas was on the verge of giving up, Maya might have actually paid attention to the things that he wasn't saying.

He had the right to one question, and whatever it was, she had to answer fully and honestly. But she was so focused on the first part that she's completely ignored the second. It took three steps for her to come back to the couch. Maya didn't hesitate to drop herself to the top of Shawn's industrial coffee table. "Sounds good to me."

Sometimes it truly was too easy.

"Why does it bother you so much that Joshua Matthews is in love with you?"

Silence.

Even the laptop had fully gone into rest mode, the fan whirling to a stop.

Maya's back locked and her hands stopped moving. Her chin didn't move as her eyes were immediately drawn to a wayward burn mark on the scuffed wooden floor. If there were ever a time that Lucas wished that Maya was physically capable of telegraphing her thoughts, this was it. Because the blank stare and sad eyes were almost making him wish that he hadn't pushed.

Almost.

After what felt like hours her fingers twitched, rubbing wearily at one of the holes in the knee of her jeans. "It doesn't bother me," she decided.

Lucas almost believed her. As much as she loved to brag about it, when it came to important moments, Maya had no poker face either. "The deal was you would answer honestly." He reminded her.

She still hadn't moved more than her fingers. "It doesn't," Maya insisted flatly. Her eyes caught his for a fraction of a second before she tore them away, her face tilting towards the light coming in from the window. "'Bother' is such a small word."

When she didn't elaborate, Lucas scooted forward on the couch, so their knees bumped. "What word would you use?" The way her eyes rolled warned him that she was well aware that he hadn't stopped at just one question, technically. But she hadn't completely shut him down yet, so Lucas was still hopeful.

Maya's mouth opened and closed as if she knew exactly what she wanted to say, she just had no clue how to get it from her brain to her throat. She took a breath, fingers now intertwined so she could pick at her cuticle.

"I'm scared."

It took everything in Lucas not to reach out to her.

"Why?"

She was still so rigid, so still. Lucas could feel the thoughts in her head screaming. A heaviness settled itself in the pit of his stomach. Had he ever caused this in her? Had she ever had to fight who she was so much to think about it?

A tear dropped from the corner of her eye and Lucas suddenly didn't want to know.

His hand coasted from the bottom of her knee to mid-thigh and back again. She would speak when she was ready, but he wasn't going to let her forget he was there.

"I know how people are," she said, at last, voice cracking. "And I know what they can do." Her tongue snaked out to wet her lips and Lucas actually flinched. "I know how it feels to have your whole life wrapped up in someone just to have them turn around and walk away from you. And I'm scared because if he loves me if I allow him that-" She backtracked carefully, her eyes shifting thoughtfully. "If I recognize that," she amended. Her voice caught in her throat, and Lucas couldn't stand to look at her anymore.

He knew how her sentence was going to end. Whatever she had done to herself all those years ago when Kermit walked out of her and Katy ran deep. And he could dress it up however he wanted, he could remind her time and again that there were so many people out there that loved her, and there was no way that he would allow her to be hurt like that again, but he wasn't physically capable of backing it up.

He opened his mouth to remind her that Josh was in no way, shape, or form Kermit.

"I've never been scared of anyone before." She cut off his train of thought with an oddly wistful sigh. He brought his chin up to face her, and it didn't surprise him that she was still staring at the bright spot in the window. There was a small laugh, more like air being forced from her mouth, and she smiled through clouded eyes. "Intimidated, maybe. Overwhelmed, sure. But I've never been scared." Maya blinked. "Josh scares me."

And there it was.

"You do realize that you started all of this shit, don't you?" It was as if life came back to Maya all at once with that revelation. She sniffled, ran a hand under her nose, and clamped her fingers together to keep herself from wiping them on her jeans.

He allowed her the derailment of thought. More because her statement was so abrupt, he didn't have the mental capacity to try. "My fault?"

She nodded, her index finger pointing to the ceiling before retracting. "I spent years building this complex series of walls so that no one but Riley would ever be able to get too close." Maya's hand ran over her face again. She shook as if trying to remind herself why she was saying any of this to begin with. "And it worked." She blew out a long breath. "I got good at it. Even Farkle didn't mind being kept just on the other side." Maya spun suddenly, her head tilting back. "Then you came along, with that big beating heart of yours. And you let me get used to needing something Riley couldn't give." Lucas could see that she wasn't angry with him. Maya didn't know how to be anymore. "And now there's not a single defense that's still in place." Another breath. Another tear. "Now I'm sitting here, being terrified."

It was entirely possible that Lucas felt guiltier for the tears than the actions that had led up to them. But he wasn't about to apologize for this new revelation in her life.

Their eyes met, and Maya bit at the nail on her pinky. "I can't be left by someone I love again."

Lucas refused to acknowledge the implication behind the words she just laid out for him. That was not a bridge he was prepared to cross. "No one's leaving you," he shut down that train of thought and reached for Maya, using her thighs to leverage her into his lap. "No one is going anywhere." He knew the second she allowed the tears to fall, shoulders shaking at odd intervals. "I'm actually pretty sure that telling someone you love them is the opposite of leaving them."

He didn't catch her retort, buried in his shoulder.

"I'm gonna pretend your mumble was you agreeing with me." Maya coughed a laugh into his chest, and Lucas brushed just enough hair out of his face to see her eyes. "And then I'll add that there's not a single thing that you can do to make anyone leave you." There was a brief flash in her eyes, a non-verbal 'challenge accepted', and Lucas gave his head a solid shake. "Don't even think about it." He gave her a second to understand that he knew she was merely rising to what she thought was bait, before leaning back slightly. "I'd like to request a follow-up."

Rolling her eyes was instinctual. "And that would be?"

"Are you going to let your fear get the better of you?"

* * *

Even when he stops to think about it, Lucas isn't entirely sure what prompted him to text Josh to tell the older man that he's in town and wants to meet for coffee.

He knows that Matthews has more or less figured out that he was Maya's phone-a-friend when she ran away. And he knows from Shawn that Josh was more than a little unhappy about that fact. Lucas actually supposes that he wouldn't be happy either if the situations were reversed.

Lucas picks the time solely due to the fact that it's in the middle of the day, and not only is it the easiest time to get away from Maya but –if he remembered the schedule correctly- neither of them would have to worry about bumping into any other member of the Matthews clan.

He made sure to forward the text conversation to Shawn, so the older man can be back at the apartment, and they salute each other as if one's shift if ending and the other has just begun.

"I'm gonna guess that Maya doesn't know you're here."

Lucas took a breath as he reminded himself that he actually likes Josh. And that bitterness that sprung up had to come from the fact that the other man had laid his heart out in front of the woman in question three days before and hadn't heard a peep from her since. Not to mention her just running off had to have taken its toll. He also had to force his brain to reiterate that Josh had absolutely no idea how Maya was doing outside of her still being alive, for that matter.

It was an advantage that Lucas had, and not only was it not fair, but it probably pissed Josh off more than a little.

"If I were any other guy, you would have done me a huge favor this week."

That didn't necessarily mean that Lucas was going to give him carte blanche to say or do whatever he'd like. He stepped up to the bar of the ladder back stool and dropped his phone to the table. A quick glance told him that the Saturday manager was on duty behind the counter, and he passed Cindy a smile and a wave. "You do know that, right?"

It would almost be worth it to ask Topanga for a copy of the security tape to memorialize the look that crossed Josh's face.

One of the college baristas –whose name escaped Lucas at that very moment- scurried over to grab his order. He had to give it to the man, though. Josh forced composure on himself pretty quickly, toying with the handle of his own mug while Lucas ordered his cappuccino and scone with some deep-seated Texas charm.

There was a fleeting thought that if Maya had made the trip with him, Lucas would most likely be walking out of there with the poor girl's number. She wasn't –thank God- and Lucas spared a glance at the reason why as the brunette wandered off.

"No," he decided after a moment. "Maya thinks I ran to my parent's house to put in some face time since this visit wasn't planned."

Josh blanched for a moment, the reminder that Maya had Called Lucas almost immediately following his last words granting him more than he was able to school off of his face. "She didn't want to go?" He took a deep breath, forcing a sip of green tea down his throat with a gulp. "She adores your mother."

The look that Lucas threw Josh was undecipherable. He actually had to stop himself from tossing out that Maya loved Amy Matthews too. Any mother that fit the stereotypical bill, really. "Yeah, well she missed three classes this week, so playing catch up was slightly more important." Josh's face fell and Lucas shook his head. He probably should have also mentioned that when he was grabbing his wallet, Maya was in the process of re-compartmentalizing via painting after their talk.

Then again, maybe not.

"How are you holding up?"

That had to be the most loaded question that Josh had heard so far, this weekend. The skepticism on his face telegraphed it. Shawn had let it slip right before he'd gone into the office that Cory made it a point to check in with his brother almost hourly, and Topanga had forced him to eat dinner with the family every night since Thursday. "Is there a way to answer that that doesn't make me sound pathetic and paranoid, or like an arrogant asshole?"

Lucas didn't mean to smile at that. "That good, huh?" His drink arrived with a lot less fanfare than his order had been taken with. "Would it help to know that she's not exactly 'the hills are alive with the sound of music'?"

"Absolutely." And it would appear that Josh's brain to mouth filter was working at about the same capacity's that Maya's was. "Because it makes me ecstatic that the woman I'm in love with is tearing herself inside out just because I happened to say it out loud."

"It's not because you said it out loud." It was out of his mouth before Lucas could stop himself. Maybe the whole 'lack of filter' thing was contagious. "You probably didn't do yourself any favors by blurting it out like that, but her freaking out has almost nothing to do with the fact that you told her you loved her."

Josh just snorted.

Of course, he was skeptical. Lucas probably would be too if he hadn't spent the last six or so years watching insecurities get the best of Maya Hart. "I'm gonna break at least three friendship rules right now," he decided quickly. He set his mug back down and wiped his palms on his jeans. "You know about her dad, right?"

Another snort, this one accompanied by a blank stare.

The nod Lucas gave back to him agreed that it was a stupid question.

"She doesn't blame him."

The look that snapped over Josh's features was more than confusion. "Excuse me?"

He supposed he probably should have found a better lead in. "Fifteen years after the fact and Maya still doesn't blame Kermit for leaving." Lucas shifted in his chair. "Ask her about it sometime." Then again, he thought to himself. That may not have been the best piece of advice ever. Thankfully, Josh seemed to agree. "She will give you forty-five different excuses, but she will never tell you that it's Kermit's fault that he walked out on her and Katy"

While Josh didn't seem to be processing the information –chances were that he might have heard some of it already- the older man hadn't objected yet. And that was saying something. "Who does she blame?"

"You already know the answer to that one."

Lucas reached for his mug, not raising it off the table. Ever since Shawn –and by extension Katy- had told her that Kermit left on his own, Maya had turned herself inside out trying to figure out why she hadn't been enough to keep her father in her life. It was made worse when he had reappeared further down the road, demanding she change almost every part of herself in order to better fit in the life that he'd created for himself.

"She stopped dreaming, stopped hoping." 'Hope is for suckers' permeated through Lucas's mind. It was a sentence that he had worked six long years to combat, not that it seemed to do much good. "She stopped consciously letting people get close to her. Because if they do, they're going to see whatever it was that Kermit did, what Katy saw that kept her at arm's length, and they're not going to want to stay." It was most likely a dick move to bring Maya's mother into the conversation. Not because Maya blamed her mother for any part of the way she was raised, but because there was a small part of the young woman who still believed that if she had done any part of her childhood differently, Katy would have been more than someone who showed up during late nights or special occasion.

Hell, Katy was still trying to repair what she could of their relationship.

Josh swallowed a gulp of air while Lucas groped for a better explanation. "She let you in," he argued.

"She didn't have a choice." Lucas laughed. For the very first day that the diminutive blonde dropped into his lap on the subway, he had known that she would walk away with a very large chunk of his heart. And thankfully, Riley had wedged a door open to make a way for their friendship. That didn't mean that he didn't have to chip away. "I slipped passed her defenses one terrifying night in Texas and refused to leave."

He didn't know if anyone had told Josh about that; of campfires and almost kisses and the aftermath of a decision that he would never express was a wrong one.

"And after a handful of some not so awesome life choices, underage drinking, and a few promises that I wish I hadn't made," now probably wasn't the best time to remind Josh that Lucas had been in the same position that Josh was in now. Only without the verbal slip up. Maya had been adamant that the discussions that they had had in the hotel room in New Haven all those years ago stayed between them. Not even Riley had been privy to the words that had created the next year and a half. She was willing to share every other aspect of 'them' with their friends, just not that. "She allowed me to stay."

Lucas liked to believe that that was what probably gave him the insight that he was about to share.

"And she's not mad at you," Lucas returned to his point with a sad smile. "If that's what you're worried about." Josh let out a quick breath. "And she's sure as shit not actually thinking of ending whatever this thing is between the two of you."

Again, Josh gave him a skeptical once over. Not because he didn't trust that Lucas believed what he was saying. But because Lucas hadn't been there that morning. He hadn't seen the darkness that crossed Maya's eyes at those two little words.

"Maya's terrified," Lucas corrected. "You upped the game, and now all of those insecurities that she managed to ignore are drowning her." He allowed himself to make eye contact with the older man now, hoping that his words stuck. "The possibility of you pulling a Kermit is very real to her. And she's pretty damn sure that if this isn't the kind of thing that is going to last forever, she's not going to make it when it ends."

There was also the vague fear that Josh was going to take Riley with him when he left.

But now was probably not the time to bring up Josh's niece.

"I can't promise that." Josh dropped his head onto the table, ignoring the looks from the other patrons. "No one can guarantee that something will last forever."

"Can you honestly tell me that you won't promise to try?"

The breath Josh forced from between his teeth gave Lucas the only answer he needed.

"I almost wish that I had known in that damn kitchen just how important she was going to be to me."

He hadn't expected to laugh. And the second it burst forth, Lucas wished that he could have taken it back. Heaven forbid that Josh thought that he was making fun of him. "She kind of sneaks up on you," he settled.

Josh's smile reappeared when the barista popped back up at their table to offer refills that they weren't' sure they needed. "So, what exactly am I supposed to do with this font of knowledge that you've graced me with?"

"Just how much would you hate me if I said 'be patient'?"

There was a groan, and Josh shook his head. "I wouldn't exactly use the word 'hate'.

His phone beeped, the same R2D2 succession that Lucas was pretty sure Josh knew signaled that Maya had just received a message from his phone, and the younger man didn't even hesitate to reach for it. "You're the one that couldn't keep his mouth shut." Lucas thumbed open his messages without bothering to read the preview screen. "And now you're just gonna have to wait her out."

Is CarolAnn feeding you? S's ordering Thai.

"Just remember, if it had been easy for Romeo to get Juliet, no one would have cared." He didn't know why he spun the phone so Josh could see the message. Maybe it was to prove that Maya was as close to being okay as he could physically make her. Then he typed out that he would only accept Thai for dinner if it was coming from the place in the Village that he liked.

"Six people die in Romeo and Juliet." Josh deadpanned.

"Cyrano and Roxanne?" Lucas offered with a shrug. "Tristan and Isolde?" Josh's grin told him that he knew how those stories ended too. "Arthur and Guinevere."

Josh cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Arthur slept with his sister and got murdered by his son."

"Depending on which version you read." Lucas conceded. His phone dinged again, and Maya informed him that she was placing the order, and if he wasn't there by the time it arrived she wouldn't guarantee that there would be any for him. "The point I'm failing to make is that a girl like that is worth waiting for." He shifted in his seat to make it easier to reach his wallet and relieved it of enough cash to cover both of their beverages for the time they'd been sitting there.

Josh didn't have to do anything but stare at him. The 'Duh' was implied.

"I'm headed back tomorrow." He let slip out as he signaled the young lady who had been taking care of them for a to-go cup. Lucas couldn't remember where he was going with his sentence, so he simply finished off his mug.

Now that their conversation was coming to a close, it seemed as if Josh was unsure where it left them as well. "Drive safe," he offered dumbly.

"Oh!" Lucas pocketed his wallet with a distracted hand. "And just in case she decides to lash out." Josh froze with his jacket halfway over his shoulders. While he would have loved to go through his entire conversation with Josh, there were certain things that would best come from Maya. "Absolutely nothing happened between she and I this weekend." Now that Josh seemed more curious than terrified, Lucas wasn't sure why he wanted to make sure the older man knew that.

He didn't allow the thought that hopefully Josh wouldn't have been dumb enough to believe her if she ever implied otherwise to escape.

Breathing easier, Josh took his to-go cup from the barista with a smile. "If you were any other guy," he threw out casually.

There was a long pause as Lucas readjusted his jacket. "In a heartbeat."

* * *

Almost nothing had changed from the time Lucas had left the apartment to the time that he walked back through the door. There was food on the counter, although it had changed from the pizza box to Thai take-out, and Maya was still across the room with headphones on. Shawn was set up at the desk on the other side of the dining room though, where Lucas supposed he had been since he'd come home.

"How's your mom?" Hunter pushed the desk chair back so he could turn to look at him.

Lucas cast a glance to the window, where Maya was standing a bit more still than she should be. "She's Mama." He answered as vaguely as possible. There was no reason why he should confirm or deny where he'd been if there was any doubt.

Maya started moving again, wiping off her brush and reaching for her palette.

"That's good." Moving across the room now, Shawn dropped his mug in the sink. "You should have taken her out." He rinsed out the ceramic before retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge. "I hear pastries are two for one at Topanga's."

He wanted to ask how Shawn had figured it out. But Maya was draping her earbuds over the top of her easel in an effort to join them at the island.

"Maybe next time." Lucas shrugged, reaching for the coconut rice.

A fork smacked his hand as he reached for Maya's squash curry. "Not yours." She stated bluntly, pulling the entire bag towards herself.

Before he could correct her -or perhaps inform Maya that he paid for it, therefore Lucas can eat what he wanted- the phone at Shawn's hip chimed. Both young adults look at him expectantly as the opening chords of Seasons of Love announced an interruption of the Cory Matthews kind. "Be nice," Shawn barked quickly, taking his entire plastic container into his room so he could take his call.

"That's not suspicious at all." Maya deadpanned, still not relinquishing the curry.

"Anyone ever tell you you're paranoid?" Lucas stole the spring rolls while she strained to hear anything from the closed door.

Her smile brightened. "Not to my face," she shoved a fork full of rice into her mouth. "Why, did you hear something?"

He skipped over the fact that she obviously stole the line from a movie. "I need you to promise me something." There was no preamble. Lucas moved his plate over to the table as if he hadn't just started a new discussion that would most likely draw the blonde's ire.

"You know I love it when you're abrupt like that." Maya grabbed two beers from the fridge and followed suit, popping the tops while Lucas stole some curry and then taking a long swig out of one before she offered it to him. "If you're about to tell me to call Riley, this conversation isn't going to end like you want it to."

Lucas shrugged. "Now that you mention it," he trailed off carefully. When she scowled at him, his lips curled into an obnoxious smile. "Calm down, Shortstack." He stole a beef pita out of the container she had set on the table. "While that one is definitely on my list, you have someone slightly more important that you need to talk to before you sit down with Riles."

He watched her face contort carefully, the thought of sitting down with either of the younger Matthews distasteful at that very moment. "If I don't talk to Josh, I won't have to talk to Riley."

"You're killing me, Smalls." The hand reaching for his beer paused halfway across his plate, redirected and ran a hand over his face. Maya didn't even try to look embarrassed. "And your logic is absurd." She stuck her tongue out at him and Lucas tossed a piece of pita in her direction. "Riley Matthews knows there's something up, and if you think that she's not going to pick up on the fact that you and Josh can't be in the same room together anymore, she's not only going to connect the dots, but you're going to get blasted because she had to do it on her own."

"You're not being fair." The blonde started, reaching for her own bottle.

"I'm being honest." Lucas supplied. "You don't have to call Riley. That's not where I was going with this." There was the briefest sighs of relief as she swallowed. "But you have to talk to Josh. At some point, you're going to have to make a decision. And he's going to need to know. Tell him everything you told me, tell him what you want. Figure out where you're going from here."

She went still then.

"What if I don't know what I want?" For the second time that day, her voice was unbelievably small. "What if I don't know where I want to go from here?"

Lucas pulled himself up to his feet, leaning over to drop a kiss on the top of her head. "You've got some time to think about it." He promised, moving to where the food was laid out on the kitchen island.

The blonde shifted in her chair carefully, not bothering to turn and face him.

* * *

Coming Soon:

 _"I don't know what kind of commitment you were trying to avoid, Maya, but you did a shitty job of it."_

* * *

 _"I'll take whatever will get you to stop talking to me like I don't know you've been dodging me for the last two weeks."_


	45. Part XXV: Let's Hurt Tonight

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 8,961  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

She wasn't paying attention to the bell above the door.

That was probably her first mistake.

Or maybe her second. After all, according to Lucas, she didn't even think twice before telling Topanga that she would pick up an extra shift so the Emily could take her son to the doctor. Then she decided to let one of the high schoolers go home early so she could study for a midterm.

All of these things added up to the fact that she was now manning the counter at _Topanga's_ alone.

"Hey."

Maya turned slowly, telegraphing absently that she wished that he had been indecisive by at least ten minutes so she could have already closed down for the night. "Josh," she trailed off slowly. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that she didn't know where to go with that. She'd successfully avoided him for the last sixteen days. No matter what she had promised Lucas before he went back to Ithica –or on the phone every day since- this was a conversation that she didn't actually want to have. "What are you doing here?"

"Lucas said you were closing tonight."

That wasn't entirely true.

Lucas had texted Josh to check in since Maya hadn't been forthcoming with any new information. That conversation had turned into one where Lucas flat out admitted that waiting Maya out might not have been the best advice that he'd ever given, and it might not get Josh anywhere -now that he understood that she would hide for as long as humanly possible. So, the younger man had offered up the aforementioned information.

Maya's head shook in exasperation even as she tried her best not to smirk. "I'll be sure to lie to him next time." If she was aiming for scathing, she missed the mark. As Maya reached for a rag to wipe down the counter, her eyes cut to the café around her.

For a Monday night, the place was dead. And while this information seemed to irk Maya more, it suited Josh's agenda just fine.

She took a fortifying breath and pushed on. "It's a little late for coffee," her gaze hasn't returned to him since he'd originally announced his arrival. "But I can probably manage cocoa."

 _So that's how it's going to be_. Josh thought to himself, biting his lip as Maya turned to check the remnants of the industrial fridge on the far wall. "I'll take whatever will get you to stop talking to me like I haven't noticed that you've been dodging me for the last two weeks."

The blonde behind the counter froze instantly, her eyes darting between the open fridge, the milk in her hand, and back again. She took stock of her current position, pulled her top lip between her teeth, and blew out a breath. "So that's a 'no' to the cocoa?"

Josh nodded. "Maya."

The fridge door slammed shut.

"I know what you're going to say." She set the milk on the counter, running a trembling hand through her hair. "And I know where this is going." Maya still hadn't actually looked up at him. "And I can't."

Josh tried very hard not to let that sentence sting. He consoled himself with the thought that he had gotten further in the last five minutes than he actually thought he would. So, he took a step closer to the counter and braced himself for the next bite. "You can't _what_?"

"This." A quick, choppy gesture, between the two of them was all she gave him to go off of. "We were supposed to be casual. We were supposed to be _safe_." Had Maya always sounded this small when referring to the two of them together? "This wasn't supposed to turn into _this_!"

"I have no idea what _this_ is." He dropped both of his hands palm down onto the counter, resisting the impulse to mimic the flip-flopping of her hand in the space between them.

"Thi-th- _this_." Nineteen years of bravado and false confidence seemed to fail Maya all at once. Josh was pretty sure that she hadn't meant to bring her hand up to her mouth to stop her stuttering or bite her knuckles when she realized just how much her hand was shaking. Had she bothered to look up, Maya would have noticed that Josh still hadn't moved. His fingers flexed uselessly on the counter, but he was determined to let her get through this conversation however she needed to. "You told me that you love me, Josh. Do you have any idea what that means?"

"I know what my interpretation of the phrase is." Josh bit back the curse that threatened to follow his words. He hadn't actually meant to be that flippant.

Her entire body shook as she held herself upright. And all Josh could do was watch.

"Maya, I never expected you to say it back." It was entirely possible that his mouth was moving without his consent now. "Hell, it wasn't actually supposed to come out of my mouth."

"You weren't supposed to _feel_ it," she countered loudly. "No part of what we were doing was supposed to end with us falling in love!"

There it was.

Josh was torn between the dejection that came with the knowledge that there was a very large part of Maya Hart that believed it and the fact that the blonde had used to word 'us' in relation to falling in love. He'd known her too long to believe that Maya had just misspoken.

His mouth decided to focus on the former statement though. "We set down exactly three rules at the start of this," Josh supplied as he curbed the urge to be as caustic as she managed. "Keep it 'casual'." He had been unsuccessful. The word shot out of his mouth like poison, and both he and Maya flinched at the vitriol that came with it. "Don't discuss it with anyone that didn't already know. And don't lie about it." Maya flinched again, and Josh's eyes followed the movement. "Nowhere in those three sentences is the statement that I'm not allowed to feel!"

The stillness was back.

Josh had made his first point. And the way that Maya swallowed her next breath told him that she knew it. "There is nothing casual about falling in love." She decided dumbly.

Their eyes finally locked.

"I'll give you that one."

"Which means," he could feel her pulling away from him. It didn't matter that she hadn't moved a muscle. "It's not casual anymore. It's-" She cut herself off by pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

"It's what?" Josh stepped forward, dropping his forearms to the countertop. He wanted so desperately to physically put himself in front of her. If for no other reason than to remind her that her body would still respond to his. She took a step back instinctively. "It's a _complicated_?" He spat the word with more anger than he'd intended. "None of this has _ever_ been simple, Maya."

Another vague gesture, this one something that Josh had seen come from his niece a time or two in order to calm her agitated father. Her breath hitched as she tried to force words through her lips. It wasn't surprising at all that none came.

And then the dam broke.

"Do you want me to start from the beginning?" Dear Lord, why couldn't he stop talking? "The first time we kissed, you pretended that it didn't happen. _Then_ you came up with this elaborate excuse as to why we could do it again." He'd agreed to it. Josh was waiting for her to point that out. She'd dangled the carrot and he'd jumped through whatever hoop she wanted him to. "The first time we made love you _physically_ ran away."

Her hand came up and he cut her off.

"The only reason your mother knows about us is because of a hickey. Shawn caught me coming out of his own damn apartment, and then he couldn't keep his mouth shut." He was relieved to see the hint of a smirk at the thought of his brother and her pseudo-father gossiping like fishwives. "I _still_ don't know how Farkle figured it out, or why he kept quiet.

"Then there's the fact that you didn't accept a dorm assignment this semester." Maya turned away and Josh knew he'd struck a nerve. He had meant what he said the night they had moved him into his apartment; he had had absolutely no problem with her staying there. Hell, she'd decorated the space with the perfect blend of both of their styles. But the fact remained that a week before her schedule was finalized Maya had called the admissions office and took her name out off of the list for student housing. There'd been no discussion, no rationalizing. It had simply been yet another unobserved milestone.

Maya's eyes cut to the tile below her feet. Josh could have sworn that they had glossed over, but the angle was all wrong to confirm it. "At _least_ a third of your wardrobe is in my closet." There was no backing down now. If Josh didn't get this out and get her to acknowledge it, there would be no going forward. "Your paint tray is still on my kitchen table; both easels have half-worked canvasses on them. There are _Uncrustables_ in my freezer!" He actually had to stop himself from laughing at that. Maya had always eaten like she would never get another meal –something Josh had long since accepted and found endearing- but he'd been a little shaken to discover that there were quite a few things in his apartment that were there simply because she ate them.

"Until I told you that I love you, you hadn't stayed at Shawn's in more than a month." It was another unmentioned fact, if not one that was a little less obvious. Neither Josh nor Maya had kept a tally of the nights she spent in his bed. He actually hadn't realized that she had been there that long until after she'd left. The list of watched shows on his DVR was all her, there was a running commentary of daily events were scattered all over the calendar attached to his pantry door in her perfect flowy script with both her work and school schedule –which she had insisted be color coded- mingling with his appointments and classes. One side of his desk still held a handful of her sketchbooks and her spare set of graphite pencils. The Meedan case that he had surprised her with –and the seventy-two Copic markers he had filled it with when she kept complaining about leaving her most used colors at Shawn's- was laying on his coffee table. That said nothing of the fact that her products have overtaken his bathroom, and he hadn't noticed that she'd changed the scent of his laundry detergent.

There wasn't a single part of his life that she hadn't invaded. And the fact that it now appeared that she'd done it unconsciously said more than it should.

"I don't know what kind of relationship you were trying to avoid, Maya, but you did a shitty job of it."

Another step back. This time Josh didn't quell his urge to remove the counter from between them. He prided himself on the fact that he stayed in the opening though, allowing her the safety net that she seemed to require.

She still hadn't spoken.

Josh didn't know if it was because she couldn't find her voice, or if she was afraid of what would come out if she broke the silence. Maya also hadn't looked up at him a second time. Blue eyes focused on the counters over by the sink. He could fully see her face now, no longer hidden by the layers of her hair.

Why hadn't he noticed that she had picked the milk back up?

She managed his name in a broken breath, eyes finally catching upwards.

Josh had seen what he had thought was the wide range of Maya Hart's emotions. He'd bared witness to her so ecstatic that she couldn't physically keep herself still, and then watched her as she ranted and seethed around his living room for seemingly no reason at all. But he'd never seen her fragmented.

That one little noise forced him through the open space.

She relinquished the milk with absolutely no resistance. Josh had no idea where he set it –only that it hadn't been dropped, and was no longer in between them- and he pulled Maya to him with one hand on her hip and the other cradling the back of her head.

"I love you," he murmured against her temple. "I know what those words mean to you, and how hard it is for you to trust them." The three words escaped in another breath, and Josh dropped a kiss to her crown as she clung to him. "But you've trusted me so far in this. Can you at least try to believe me when I say them?" He could have sworn she melted into him then, her nose pressed against his collarbone and tears staining his shirt.

"I do." He could feel her lips move against his chest. "I do believe you." Another sniffle and Josh threaded his fingers through her hair. "But believing you isn't the problem." Maya pulled back ever so slightly so she could look up at his face. "It's believing that that's enough to make you stay."

Josh wanted to actually kiss her then. He wasn't going to because kissing was distracting, and this was one conversation that they needed to have. "Maya Penelope Hart," each word was emphasized with a squeeze of her hip. "There is nothing that you could possibly do that will ever make me leave you."

"'Ever' is a dangerous word." She informed him with a roll of her eyes. "It's like 'always' and 'never'." Maya swallowed carefully. "You can't promise something like that."

There was a split second where Josh thought about reminding her that he was a Matthews and words like 'forever' and 'always' were burned in his blood. "There is nothing that you could possibly do that will ever make me leave you." He repeated again, this time more strongly. She seemed to consider the statement, head cocking to the side. Her sniffle was buried in a laugh and had Josh not seen the wrinkle in her nose, he would have probably mistaken the noise. "Now is not the time for you to even think about joking about that." He brushed her nose with the tip of one finger.

It was a return to the familiar when Maya didn't even bother to try to appear contrite.

"The point that I was trying to make was that I'm not going anywhere." Her eyes flitted away again. "I will be here every single time that you need me." A tap to her chin brought her eyes back to him. "You can doubt it, you can try to push me away because you can't convince yourself that it's true, but I'm not giving up."

A car alarm went off in the distance, and Maya took a second to consider her surroundings. "Josh?" She pulled back just enough to tilt her face to his without bumping into his chest.

Any levity that they had gained was gone in that one syllable. Josh had to force himself to take a deep breath before he glanced down at her. "Maya?"

"I know that there's a lot we need to talk about." She tried to hide her insecurity behind the downcast of her eyes. Josh took a step back, his hands dropping from her hips so she could have the space to breathe. "But do you think," a sniffle turned into a cough, and this time his eyes followed hers as she surveyed the café. "Do you think that we can finish this at home?"

It was all he had in him not to start grinning like the idiot he felt he was. Four little letters changed his entire outlook on this conversation. "I think we can probably arrange that." She nodded as she took another step back, glancing from her textbook to the milk that had somehow made it back to the counter, trying to decide where to start cleaning up.

* * *

The first thing Maya did was take a shower.

It was a part of her normal ritual on nights she closed _Topanga's_ , although he was pretty sure that this time she was considering a healthy dose of avoidance in with her need to feel clean. Josh used the time to text Shawn that he'd finally gotten Maya to talk to him, change from his work attire into something more comfortable, and grab himself a beer.

When she emerged from the bathroom, Maya was fully clothed in a pair of cashmere sleep pants and the pajama top from the set she'd received the Christmas Eve before.

"Hi."

Josh gave her a careful smile, nodding back at her before holding up his beer in an offer. "Hi."

Maya's head shook reflexively.

"Yeah," the sound was choppy after another minute or two of silence. "I didn't think this would be as awkward as it is."

"It's not awkward." Josh countered with a grin. He set his bottle back on the kitchen island and gestured to the living area. He would be more than willing to move to the couch if it was what she wanted. "We're just a bit out of practice."

She crossed the room in quick strides, her aim the kitchen counter, not the couch. "We're not discussing box scores, Joshua." Maya braced herself on the granite and exhaled. "I don't think you can be out of practice in a conversation you've never had before."

Josh moved back toward her. He made sure to keep the counter between them for as long as possible. They were no longer on neutral territory. There was a great deal of memories that had already been made in the small space, and he wanted to make sure that they wouldn't be used as a diversionary tactic. "Where would you like to start?"

Her fingers intertwined on the countertop, nails already starting to pick at the cuticles. "You talked to Lucas?" Her eyes slammed shut the moment the words came from her mouth. Josh didn't have to ask if that was what she meant for her first sentence to be. It seemed that Freud was cursing Maya for her silence.

Josh hid his sigh behind his bottle. "I did."

"When?"

"When he came to town." Question asked and answered. His mother's voice rang in his ears. But he wasn't about to bring that up.

Maya swallowed whatever her first thought was. "Why?"

"You really have to ask?" Josh changed directions mid swig and dropped his bottle onto the counter with a clink. He braced himself against the granite even as he met her eyes. "I've spent the last year dating you through a filter, Maya." He spun, more because he knew that anger wouldn't solve any problems, and paced across the tile. "You're hot, you're cold, you're perfectly fine intimating that you and I have a future together as long as I don't mention your relationship with Riley, us, or actually say the word 'relationship' at all." There was a clink behind him, and Josh turned in time to see Maya lift his bottle from the counter. "So yeah, Lucas and I have actual discussions to keep both of us from losing our damn minds."

Silence reigned as Maya stole a sip of his beer.

"I'm sorry."

It was so soft, Josh was almost sure he'd imagined it.

Maya rolled the bottle between her hands and sighed. "I am sorry about that." She took another sip. "It's not you-"

"If you finish that sentence with 'it's me', so help me, Maya."

Her eyes rolled. "I'm pretty sure I can come up with a better cliché if I planned on starting that fight."

She pursed her lips, biting down harshly on the side of her cheek, and then took a breath.

"I learned to be unfaithful from my parents." His curiosity must have been written all over his face because Maya's chin dipped in an odd little dance as she rethought her words. "Not infidelity in the 'let's cheat on Josh' sense." He chuckled at her applying him to the analogy that she was creating. "But I've always prepared myself for the unhappy ending." She held his gaze even as she smiled wryly. "If my best friend were here, she and her psych textbooks would tell you that due to this, I'm apparently programmed to be a lot less willing to work toward a happy one." There was a pause as she peered down into the bottle. "I'm unfaithful to the idea that I'm actually going to get a well-adjusted future."

Josh nodded because, well, what else was he supposed to do?

"So, I'm aggressive and aloof, and I withdraw when I think that I'm getting too close or I'm giving someone too much power." She tapped her friendship ring on the glass, considering her words carefully. "I don't do it on purpose." Maya took another deep breath. Her eyes suddenly distant. "At least, I don't think I do." Josh took a step back to the island. "I go back to what I know; what I _know_ isn't going to hurt me. And Lucas… He's been my 'safe' for years. I don't have to think with him." Her gaze shifted, and now Maya was staring somewhere over Josh's shoulder. "Did you know that he was the first one to realize that I'd had sex with Oliver?" Josh wasn't sure why it was that ass hole of a senior that she'd slept with her junior year of high school had sprung to her mind, but he wasn't in a position to question it. "I told Riley –because apparently, I'm an idiot- and she was so pissed at me for not waiting that she froze me out."

The story that Josh had been told during a surprisingly not awkward group discussion consisted of Maya and Riley making some sort of pact to keep it to themselves until it had been discovered that Lucas and Zay were no longer virgins either, and it had always been the biggest non-issue to ever not be an issue. Josh had no idea that the story that Riley and Maya perpetuated wasn't real. Then again, he supposed that when you were best friends, you could rewrite certain histories to everyone's advantage.

Josh ran a hand over his face, more than a little amused that his niece had been able to do it without cracking. "I didn't know Riley-"

"If you were me, would you readily admit that you managed to get Riley Matthews so pissed at you that she didn't speak to you for almost two weeks?"

There was a half-second pause before Josh decided that mentioning sarcastically that he may have some sort of inkling what that felt like was probably bad form. He also had to admit that Maya was right one this one. Not the lying part. But once upon a time, his niece had given him the silent treatment for two days because she discovered that he had been an avid smoker for last half of his senior year of high school; three years after the fact. It had probably been worse for Maya seeing as though she and Riley were as joined at the hip as any two people could be.

"But Lucas didn't judge." Maya redirected the conversation back to the original thought. There was a fondness in her voice, even if Maya lacked the smile that Josh had come to associate with the tone. She didn't mention when or how exactly Farkle found out, or his reaction. Josh assumed that it had been much the same as when the genius had stumbled upon their relationship in Italy. Farkle would make sure that Maya knew that he was there when she needed him, and he would keep his opinions to himself when she didn't. "He became the other half of my best friend." Only someone who knew Maya would understand why she chose that particular sentence. She hadn't found someone to replace Riley. More like a supplement in the instances that she knew their moral code differed, and Riley might not be the best first sounding board.

Which was most likely why Lucas had been the one Maya went to when everything started in October.

"And –up until recently- he was the perfect judgment-free zone."

If Maya were expecting him to apologize for Lucas taking a stance in her whole 'love hurts' mantra, she wold be sorely disappointed. Thankfully a side eye and relieving the bottle in her hands of another healthy swig was all she gave him.

"And since I couldn't tell Riley about us-"

" _Wouldn't_ ," Josh corrected with a grim smile. "There is and has never been anything stopping you from telling Riley about you and me." He would yield to more than a few things during the course of their conversation if it got their issues out in the open, but Josh would be damned if he was going to let her hide behind her convoluted form of semantics.

Maya just shrugged. "I thought we were talking about my compulsion to run to Lucas as inopportune times."

"We'll come back to it." The bottle was drained, and Josh slid over to the fridge unprompted. He grabbed two more bottles, popped the caps, and slid one across the island to the blonde. "Why won't you tell Riley?"

He wasn't sure if her annoyance was the topic change itself, or on the subject that he'd picked. "Riley barely understood what Lucas and I were doing." Maya spat out without thinking. Her gaze wandered to the kitchen table, where her tabletop easel still sat. "I was not about to ask her to accept that it was more or less the same thing with her _uncle_."

"She's a big girl," Josh threw out for good measure. "Try again."

"I told you," she rolled her eyes. "I don't-"

"Don't give me the stock answer." He grabbed one of the stools from the longer side and pulled it to him.

"I don't want to hurt her."

His patience was thinning now, but he knew he couldn't push her. So instead, Josh rotated his hand on his wrist. "What part of the two of us being together is going to hurt Riley?"

Maya followed suit in the appropriation of furniture. Josh was suddenly reminded of another conversation –a little under a year ago- that included a kitchen counter between them. "I've only had one actual constant in my life since I was little." The sentence was a non-sequitur. But Josh wasn't about to jump in. Maya had to start somewhere, and he had faith that she would circle around to her point eventually. "Ever since I climbed through that bedroom window, Riley has done nothing but offer me unconditional love and support. Even when she didn't agree with my choices, even when it was me that was getting in my own way." Her voice trailed off, and Maya closed her eyes to force a calming breath. "She was there for my first kiss and my first art show. Hell, she's the one that bought my very first piece of art.

"And yeah, she says that I'm family." They all did, actually. Maya had become such a part of the Mathews' lives that even before they found out that the two of them were together, Maya was always included in family events. Amy and Alan both enjoyed announcing that they currently had three grandchildren instead of just the two. But Josh wasn't going to point that out. Maya obviously had something she was trying to get out and he wasn't going to inhibit that. "You're blood." Maya's dejected shrug said more than Josh wanted it to. "When it comes down to it, only one of us is truly a part of this family, and it's not me."

There was nothing Josh could say that could refute that. At a biological level, Maya was absolutely right.

"I wasn't wrong last year," she went on. "I'm an erratic, argumentative commitment-phobe." Maya physically pointed out, using her bottle as an extension of herself. " _This_ ," there was that word again, complete with the back and forth gesture. "Isn't going to last." His mouth opened and Maya shook her head. "Not because either one of us wants it to, not because we've found someone else or something stupid like that. But it's going to happen, because –let's face it- this is _me_ we're talking about." Josh had never wanted to track Kermit down and beat him more than that very moment. "And when it does, when you and I can't figure out the transition from lovers back to friends, Riley is going to have to choose between me and her family." The sad smile was back with a vengeance now. "There's nothing more important than family."

There was a minor celebration in Josh's mind when he realized that Maya had unconsciously given him two openings in her argument. "You and I have been pretty solid for about eleven months now." Her eyebrows rose, and Josh smiled. "Give or take."

It was Maya's turn to open her mouth in rebuttal.

Josh didn't give her the chance. "And you seem to have forgotten the part in this dramatization of a breakup of yours where you convince roughly twenty people to pretend that our relationship never happened." He was deliberate in his usage of the word. "You're good –I'll give you that- but you're not that good.

Whatever it was that Maya had originally planned on saying fled with the roll of her eyes. "Why?"

His brow furrowed. "Why what?"

Maya took another stabilizing breath, her face mimicking his. "Why do you love me?"

If he hadn't known her better, Josh would have taken the question for one of the many diversionary tactics that Maya was famous for. He probably should have been asking himself how long she'd been holding onto that question. He didn't give himself time to think too much about it though. "I love you because you make no apologies about who you are." He started carefully, her brow rising as she connected his comment to their previous discussion. Josh set his bottle down and smiled. "Not when you're scatting across the living room after teasing Riley, or strapping that damn flask to your thigh even though you know there's going to be an open bar. You certainly don't apologize when you're throwing innuendo around like it's fucking confetti." She had the sense to blush, and Josh wanted to kiss the crease that blossomed on her brow.

"And you're constantly in motion." The fingers that she was using to peel the label off of her bottle froze. "It doesn't matter if you're sprawled out on the couch studying, or in front of your easel. Hell," he barked out a laugh. "You could be half asleep; you're always moving somehow." Her eyes dropped to the countertop. "You're absolutely brilliant." He slid off his stool on a whim, circumventing the counter so he could truly stand in front of her. "You're scary smart, even though you refuse to acknowledge it." Deft fingers skimmed up to her collarbone, and their eyes met as he stroked her jawline. "We're going to skip over the fact that you're gorgeous as hell without even trying." Her eyes rolled then, but she dipped her chin for more contact. "You're the happiest damn fatalist on the planet. Seriously, you laugh _all_ the time and you can find humor in anything; even when you probably shouldn't."

She sniffled finally, and Josh's thumb traced her cheekbone. "I love you because you're completely unaware of your effect on everyone Maya." Instead of kissing her –which was getting harder and harder not to do- Josh ran his hand up and down her arm. "If you need me to keep going, I can."

"One day you're going to get a good look at me," Maya's face dipped back to his chest. "And I'm not going to live up to this person you've decided that I am."

The amazing part of that sentence wasn't that she actually said it, although Josh wished that he could force her to take it back, it was the absolute conviction in which the words were said.

When his mouth opened to rebuke her, Maya popped a finger against his lips. "I overthink _everything_ ," she started to herself. "From how long it takes you to respond to a text, to the reason behind the song you told me you've had stuck in your head all day. And I'm not an easy person to be with." He bit the inside of his cheek to hide his smile. "I do _actually_ know that." Blue eyes rolled in mock annoyance. "I haven't, and probably won't start, to make it remotely easy for you. I'm insecure, and stubborn, and immature. I send ridiculous memes at the most inopportune times, and I refuse to answer the phone if you call just because I prefer texting. I'm addicted to Instagram, and I can't leave the house without a sketch pad." Her bottom lips quivered, and Josh restrained himself from leaning down to capture it between his. "And it's physically impossible for me to go more than six hours without my best friend."

"You forgot that you're a pillow stealer," he added with a smirk. "You're also indecisive as hell. You leave the cap off the toothpaste all the damn time, you can't seem to remember that dishes can't be washed if you don't put them in the dishwasher, and I'm pretty sure that you missed the lesson on personal space in every grade _ever_." It was her turn to look annoyed. "I'm also pretty sure that I just finished telling you that I love you, and I don't give a shit."

"When did you know that you loved me?" Maya was on a roll, and if she needed him to lay it out for her, Josh was more than willing to oblige.

He just kind of wished that he had seen it coming. "You were a snowstorm." Josh decided absently.

Maya's lopsided grin was problematic. "If you were going for an insult, you might want to do better than that." The words were casually thrown from her lips, but she was anything but facetious.

It took more willpower than Josh currently possessed to hold the words 'smart ass' at bay. Maya took them with a cock of her head. "When's the last time you've seen one?" He countered. "You see the flakes falling, but you don't actually think about how they're adding up. And then suddenly your whole lawn is covered in it." A quick smile blossomed and Josh bopped the tip of her nose with a finger. "You were my snowstorm."

"It goes without saying that blizzards are natural disasters, right?"

"And the moment's gone." Josh kissed her brow carefully, making sure to pause with enough time for her to pull back if she wanted to.

There was a noise from the back of her throat as Maya shifted on her feet. "I can't-" She cut herself off, taking a full step back. Josh watched her face, all scrunched up and suddenly agitated with herself. "I don't think I can say it back."

There was a part of Josh that knew it was coming. It was a common joke among her friends that it took Maya a while to warm up to someone. While she may shout her love for Riley across several lanes of traffic without hesitation, and announce her adoration for Farkle from a rooftop without flinching, Maya still couldn't bring herself to say the word 'love' often.

Josh felt Maya's pulse quicken as he cupped her chin. "I don't need you to." There was no stutter in Josh's voice, no stumble over the words. "The only thing I need is you."

Another wet sniffle and Maya blinked back fresh tears. "Which movie did you steal that from?" She hiccupped her way through a laugh.

"We're having a moment." He informed her mock brusquely. She gave him another quick laugh, sniffling sharply and bumping her forehead into his breastbone. "I'm allowed to quote whatever the hell I please."

"You get more and more like your brother every day."

"I take it back," Josh shifted away from her, shaking his head. "I don't love you."

Her smile was bright enough that he didn't feel bad about the joke. "You don't get to change your mind now." Maya bounced up on her tiptoes then, sliding her hands firmly around his neck and pulling him down to decrease the height difference. Josh went where she led him, but pulled back just enough that she had to pop up to close the last inch between them.

A sweep of her tongue was all it took for Josh to give up the pretense of holding back. He anchored both hands at her hips, allowing Maya total control. When she sighed, he brushed his tongue against hers. One delicate hand snuck under the hem of his t-shirt. Her nails skimmed his side before sliding up the bare skin to clutch his shoulder; nails down. He didn't mean to walk her backward. And it wasn't until her back hit the kitchen counter that he realized they had relocated. Maya's arms shifted, using him as leverage to hoist herself up onto the counter.

"I'm about to lose every man card ever created." Josh managed in one breath, pulling back enough to force her to take her hands out of his shirt. "But I think we should renegotiate the rules before we do this."

He wasn't sure what he was expecting as a response to his suggestion. Maya throwing her head back and laughing was definitely not on the list. "You are such a girl."

Josh aligned their hips slowly, bringing Maya off the counter enough to prove her wrong.

"We're going to talk about this." He tried again, lifting her off the counter fully and walking the fifteen feet from the kitchen to the couch with her legs wrapped around his waist. He dropped her unceremoniously onto the couch, moving to the coffee table before sitting himself down on it.

Maya flipped her hair out of her face and smiled. "Where would you like to start?"

"I'm done hiding us." It may not have been the sentence he wanted to start with, but Josh found it fitting all the same. "If we're together, we're together. If you don't like 'girlfriend' we can find another term, but I'm through pretending that we're not."

Her thumb to her lips, Maya considered him. "That's what you're wanting out of this?" She said after a very long minute.

"I don't want anything _out_ of this," Josh said sternly. His entire body shook as he let out a breath, his forearms bracing on his thighs. "This isn't some deal we're brokering, Maya. It's a relationship."

"We're brokering a relationship?" She threw out before she could stop herself.

"Seriously?!"

There was no response.

In fact, there was nothing. He actually had to look up to make sure that Maya hadn't managed to make a break for the door. His counterpart hadn't moved though. She still sat cross-legged on his leather sectional. Maya's face was downcast, and she stared at her intertwined fingers as if they now held the secret to the end of this situation.

"I'm not calling Riley."

Josh was just thankful that his 'of course you're not' only reverberated throughout his head. Aloud he just sighed.

"Don't make that face." Her brows rose when her chin did, and Maya reached across the expanse that grew between them to touch his own hand. "You're right." Before Josh could think to ask for clarification, Maya moved on. "This," there was that damn word again, "has been going on for months." It didn't escape his notice that she didn't apply the number. It certainly wasn't because she didn't know it. "And I don't know how to call Riley up and say 'guess what I've been doing since Thanksgiving?'"

Josh would give her that point.

"I know it's quixotic, and delaying the inevitable, but I would," Maya blinked and looked up at the ceiling. " _Appreciate_ ," she decided after a moment, "If you would let me figure out how to tell her on my own terms."

"She will be told?" Josh made sure his eyes held hers.

Maya nodded. "She will be told." The word 'eventually' hung in the air like lead. Josh supposed that was an argument for another time. "Next issue?"

"No more running." This statement was made with a bit more authority than the last two. "If you're uncomfortable, or something's wrong, you stay and we talk it out." Blue eyes rolled before Maya nodded slowly. "We can sit in two different rooms and text it out if that's how you need to do it. But I'm going on the record now that I'm not doing the whole 'two weeks later' thing again."

He could have sworn he heard Maya whisper 'sixteen days' to herself. Then her chin cocked to the side. "That last sentence includes an assumption or two there, Matthews."

It certainly hadn't been on purpose. Josh laughed nonetheless. "You're the one that called this place home," he reminded her. "And I don't mind that at all." She still hadn't taken her hand back from him, and Josh felt her thumb twitch.

Maya considered it for a moment. "It doesn't mean the same to me that it does for you." She threw out as she shifted on her knees.

Josh didn't mind.

"We don't tell Cory and Shawn."

There were a lot of things wrong with that sentence. But Josh decided to start with the obvious. "They already know about us."

"Not that." Maya huffed out a laugh. "We don't make any grand announcements." That made more sense. "We're not getting everyone together, I'm not going out to a fancy dinner with Captain Crazy and Sir Worries-A-Lot." She stole another breath. "I don't want to make a big deal out of this."

It was already a big deal. But he understood her point. With the exception of her hand giving a quick spasm every now and then, Maya hadn't moved since her mention of Riley. She was embarking on the unknown, and the less extravagant they made this, the better. Josh didn't bother telling her that he would have to tell Cory and Shawn something. They both knew exactly how hard the last two weeks had been, and they were likely to murder him if he didn't explain just a little. "No Captain Crazy and Sir Worries-A-Lot," he promised. He would handle the dynamic duo on his own; well, maybe with a little help from Topanga.

"I'm not living here." She spits out after another pregnant pause. Josh just blinked. He didn't recall asking her to move in, even though at times it seemed like she already had. A decent chunk of her own personal items could even be seen from where he was perched on the coffee table. Maya blew a breath between clenched teeth and shook her head. "I mean, I'm not moving out of Shawn's." Another frustrated noise and Maya still wasn't getting the right words to come out. "I need a space that's mine," she settled.

It made sense then. "You're not an official resident of La Casa del más joven Matthews." He agreed. "Although you might want to inform Etsy and Amazon about that." He pointed a small stack of boxes she hadn't noticed when she arrived. "it appears they're unaware."

"You might have been able to get me to talk to you sooner if you'd told me that those were here."

Josh couldn't help his smirk. "You really think that might have swayed you?"

Her entire face contorted as she thought it over. Maya bit her cheek, scrunched her nose, and shook her head slowly. "Probably not."

Josh ran his hands up her thighs with a laugh. "I love you."

There was a second before Maya's jaw slackened, and she blinked twice. "Thank you." Her hands slid down to clutch at his and her lips pursed in a tight smile. Maya's gaze shifted to something over his left shoulder, and the twitch was back. "Why does this feel like it's not enough? Like we're only delaying the inevitable?"

"Have you ever looked up the definition of the word 'fatalist'?" Maya's eyes rolled even as she snorted out a breath. "You've only gotten to watch the good side of love, and you've lived through more than enough ways that it can all go wrong. We're going to skip over your penchant for thinking that you don't get a happy ending." Josh might tell her sometime in the near future that that piece of wisdom had been bestowed upon him by the older brother that they weren't going to tell anything to one night when the idea of a handful of drinks after work to dull his thoughts trumped going back to an empty apartment. "And this conversation isn't a fix-all." He bopped her nose and leaned in closer. "But it's one hell of a start."

She closed in on herself for a moment, shoulders slumping. "What happens when I ruin it?"

Josh shook his head. "Not going to happen." When she dipped her head, he did too. "Look at me." Maya's eyes swept up, but her chin remained bowed. "I'll believe it enough for the both of us for as long as I need to, Maya."

Her lip quirked as her cheeks tinted. "Thank you."

In one smooth motion, Josh slid his hands up to her hips and jerked her across the expanse so she was sitting in his lap. "Now I have a very important question for you." Blue eyes widened warily and Josh laughed. "Are you staying here tonight?"

The smile that followed was probably the easiest of the entire night. Maya didn't answer him aloud. Instead, her arms came up around his shoulders and one forceful hand brought his lips down to hers.

* * *

"Luke stayed."

Maya's voice cut through the darkness as her head bowed, her chin finding purchase on the meat of his bicep. Josh hadn't been sleeping, and he was pretty sure she hadn't succumbed either, but her voice still startled him.

"I don't know how much he told you…"

Josh's jaw clenched as he connected the dots. He couldn't say he hadn't been warned. Although, her mumbling into his arm wasn't exactly how he thought this conversation would go if she decided to broach the subject. Then again, he had honestly wondered if she was going to get around to this particular confession. "Lucas stayed?" He coaxed with a sigh. The tension in his shoulders was back, but he didn't allow it to affect his voice. "I'm going to need the rest of that sentence, Gorgeous."

"Luke came to town the weekend," one big breath in, "The weekend I disappeared," she managed all in one exhale. "He stayed with me at Shawn's." Josh hadn't been prepared for the way she flipped herself over, making sure their eyes met. "We shared my room." He was pretty sure she was blushing, even though the light was far too low for him to be certain.

His mind replayed his conversation with Lucas. The younger man had been positive that Maya was going to use this information in a completely different way.

Josh was grateful for Lucas being wrong on more than one account.

Fingers drummed on his tattoo as Maya attempted to be patient for his reaction. He knew he was quieter for longer than he should have been. Longer than she wanted him to be at any rate.

His arm ghosted her bare back, fingers twitching against her spine. "I know you joked about it earlier," he began. The rest of the sentence hung in his throat. There was absolutely no reason for him to feel the way he did. Lucas didn't lie, he knew that. He also knew that the Texan had given up the information unprompted. But he needed to hear her actually say the words. "You know what I want to ask." He flexed his jaw carefully.

"It didn't happen," she assured him, her chin rising before dropping onto his sternum for a kiss. "I was distant and bitchy, then I didn't want to be alone." He still hadn't unclenched his jaw. "We left the bedroom door open." Another deep breath and Maya swallowed harshly. "Please say something."

"It doesn't happen again."

Josh knew how he sounded. From the tension in his tone to the lump in his throat. "We started a new set of rules, that's one of them." He finally shifted so he could glance down at Maya's face, their eyes locking. "I'm not going to push you to tell Riley, you can take all the time you need on that one. But next time it comes down to you sharing a room with someone who's not me, I don't give a shit how inconvenienced Will gets."

He expected her to push back. For Maya to decide that she changed her mind and that she couldn't give up that much freedom,

Instead, Maya dropped her chin again, pressing a solid kiss to the ouroboros. "It doesn't happen again," she whispered into his skin.

* * *

She's gone before his alarm sounds, and Josh fails miserably to not be bothered by that. It takes him half a second before he realizes that she didn't bother to right her side of the bed, and that one of his hoodies is missing off of the back of the closet door, before pulling on a pair of sleep pants and beginning his morning ritual.

He's halfway through brushing his teeth when he notices that there's a dark gray spot on the bathroom mirror. Flicking on the light, Josh discovers a plain yellow sticky note stuck right at what was probably Maya's eye level in front of him.

The handwriting is sloppy, almost a little sleepy, and Josh wonders if it was actually written in the dark.

 _Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with everything they have.  
_ -unknown


	46. Part XXVI: Kindly Calm Me Down

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 6,280  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

Of all the ways that Josh thought his Monday would go, this was not among them.

He should have been able to surprise his girlfriend –because Josh had actually been able to refer to Maya as such for the better part of a month now, and he found he really liked it- with breakfast in bed before getting her up and off to her first class of the day. Then he was going to putter around the apartment pretending to clean until she came home to help him. After the video conference/productivity meeting that his team set up to make sure that everyone was actually keeping an eye on the project during their time off, Josh had decided that he was going to be treating Maya to dinner –out or in, it really didn't matter to him- before spending the rest of the evening with her in his arms to make up for the fact that they had to pretend not to be practically living together while his niece was in town.

And yes, somewhere in all of that he was going to take another stab at convincing Maya to make 'eventually' a sooner rather than later concept and actually tell her best friend that they were together.

Instead, the youngest Matthews sibling is telling his brother that he will work on getting Maya moving –if Cory could be so kind as to stall Riley for another half an hour or so- so that the blonde in his bed won't get caught not being at the place she's supposed to be living at ten in the morning. Because there was no way in hell that Riley was going to believe that Maya had woken up early for a late class if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Cory had promised to try, so breakfast in bed had been scrapped for an oversized mug of the vanilla bourbon smoked coffee that he still had no idea where Maya found. He'd made a full pot, which meant that there was more than enough for the stainless-steel tumbler that his girlfriend kept pretending not to Bogart.

He got to laugh when he passed back into the bedroom. Somehow in the two hours that it had taken him to get up, shower, check his email, and answer the hurried call from his brother, Maya had repositioned herself onto his side of the bed. It was entirely predictable though, the way she had buried her face into his pillows and wrapped herself in the blankets on his side.

She did leave him enough room to sit beside her and place his own mug on the nightstand. Josh leaned forward and planted kiss to her temple. Then he ran his hand up the full length of her leg and back down, trying to gently coax her into the land of the conscious. "It's time to get up, Gorgeous."

"Are ninjas attacking us?"

Her eyes weren't even open yet. Which meant that she didn't catch the grin that spread across Josh's face at the way part of her face was still buried in the pillow. "No."

Maya actually growled at him. "That is the only acceptable reason for you to be waking me up right now." It didn't matter that she had no idea what time it was. The alarm on her phone hadn't gone off, signifying that she had an hour until she had to be on campus, and that was enough for her.

Josh shifted closer to her on the bed, running a hand up her side. "Cory called." One eye opened then, and Josh watched the panic build. "Riley's home."

Maya's entire body convulsed, pushing her into an upright position. "Shit."

"Pretty much what I thought you'd say." Josh dispensed the mug from the hand not touching her and kissed her forehead.

"Why?"

Other than delivering the liquid caffeine to her lips, Maya hadn't moved another muscle. She also hadn't realized that Josh was fully dressed; or that he'd somehow managed to locate the crewneck sweater she had supposedly torn Shawn's apart trying to find not three days prior. Josh didn't realize until that very moment that that might pose an issue when she was fully conscious.

"Thanksgiving?" He offered casually, taking a sip of his own mug. "You two have only been planning the next week since Labor Day."

He's fairly certain that her eyes started rolling before her brain finished registering his comment. "I mean why _now_?" She coughed, running a hand through her sleep-tussled hair. The mug was deposited on the nightstand with a thud. "We had a very elaborate plan involving me meeting her at the station tomorrow after my Critical Theory test." She waved in the general direction of the kitchen, where the weekly itinerary had been plotted out on the wall calendar. There was also an emoji shaped sticky note –to be removed at the end of the day- announcing that she had planned on cleaning herself out of the common areas of Josh's apartment for him on the off chance that Riley and Will made an appearance here over the course of the week.

Her brain hiccupped, and Maya threw a quick glance over to the rarely used alarm clock on the nightstand.

Josh watched her eyes drop as she mentally calculated something, her nose scrunched, and she looked back up at him.

"Wait," she stuttered as she looked to the nightstand again. "Why are you here?"

Calmly, Josh took another sip of coffee. "My name is on the lease?"

"Joshua Gabriel," Maya reached for her mug again. She knocked back the last swallow of coffee in the mug like a shot, shaking her head as the warm liquid slid down her throat. "Riley's here; more than twenty-four hours ahead of schedule. I have to figure out how to cover the fact that I have –most likely- missed a few calls and or texts that may or may not have warned me of that." She actually brought the mug back to her lips before realizing that she'd already finished it off. "I don't have the mental capacity to deal with jokes right now."

Her pout is what did him in, and Josh swapped her empty mug for his half full one with a quick kiss. "Reynolds is in Madison with his kids this week," he reminded her for what was probably the umpteenth time. "So, the rest of us on the team get to work from home until he gets back."

"God bless Harry's kids." It seemed to come back to her how Josh would both be there to help her with whatever overly happy holiday situation Riley and Will were going to create this week, and stay far enough away that Riley wouldn't get suspicious.

It was a tall order, but she had faith in him.

"Were you headed to your brother's?" Maya had no problem keeping her eyes open now, already mentally calculating what articles of clothing were in her general vicinity and creating an outfit for herself. It was a given that she wasn't going to be able to avoid seeing Riley before her Topics in Painting class, and she wasn't going to risk her chances of trying to head Riley off on her way to Tribeca.

Josh shook his head, grabbing her empty mug and heading back into the kitchen. "I was going to let you make first contact."

There was no warning before the blonde pulled the vintage Bon Jovi tee over her head, throwing it in the general direction of the laundry basket. She wandered across the hall to the bathroom in just her underwear as she muttered something about stealing a beanie because 'a shower just isn't going to be happening this morning'.

"Your patchwork skinny jeans made it through the wash." He called out as she slammed the door.

There was a muffled 'thank you' shouted back in return. Whether it was for laundering the dirty clothing she had left there when he did his that weekend, or that she had seen him pull the creamer out of the fridge –which could only mean that he was making her another cup- Josh wasn't sure. "Is there food of some kind that I can take with me?"

"Yogurt and granola or bagel chips and almond butter?" On actual work days, Josh grabbed an omelet wrap from one of the cafés between the subway and his office. The sole reason that there were portable breakfast foods in his apartment was because of the blond now wandering out of the bedroom pulling a burnt orange sweater over one of his dark V-neck shirts.

Maya tilted her head in consideration. "Is the yogurt French Vanilla?"

"At least half of your wardrobe is scattered around here _somewhere_ ," he gesticulated in the direction of the small collection of her shoes by the front door and the jackets and cardigans overtaking his coatrack before pointing directly at her with the spoon he was using to stir the coffee in the tumbler. "There is no reason for you to need to wear my shirt."

Reaching behind him to grab a plastic spoon, Maya shrugged. "It smells like you."

"I do your laundry," he bit back. The tumbler changed hands, and Maya popped up for a kiss before he relinquished it fully. "It all smells the same."

"That's because you're a guy." He wasn't sure how she managed to balance her hip on the counter, take a sip of coffee, and readjust her ballet flat at the same time, but Josh enjoyed watching her do it. "Everything smells the same to you."

Josh wrapped both arms around her then, smiling to himself when she leaned back into his touch and flipped the low ponytail she had thrown her hair into to the side so he could drop a kiss to her neck. "Not true." Another kiss and his hands slid to her hips before his lips grazed her pulse point. "You smell like peaches, jasmine, and sharp notes of sandalwood."

Maya rotated in his arms, bringing the tumbler up with her as she twinned her arms around his neck. "You've read my perfume bottle."

"I like to stay informed."

On the counter behind them, Maya's phone chirped to life, signaling that it really was time to get a move on. "I'll see you tonight?"

"I think I can manage to invite myself to Riley's 'welcome home' dinner." He allowed himself a quick kiss. "And I'll de-Maya this place in case you decide to bring her back here tomorrow after your class."

It was worth noting that neither of them wondered whether or not Maya could get Riley there without her wondering why they were invading Josh's apartment. "I'm going to try to get out of the slumber party tonight." They both knew that she had her Art History as Critical Theory test in the bag. The professor graded mostly on complete thought patterns, and the ability to defend opinion over exact fact. But it was a nine-a.m. class, and Maya couldn't do that and stay up all night with Riley. "I want one more night alone with you before all of the craziness."

Another ding, this one accompanied by what Josh could only describe as a fairy princess noise, and Maya missed Josh's grin by turning to reach for the device.

"Go."

She was halfway to the door, hobo bag slung over her arm before she stopped dead. Josh was about to question her when she spun around and launched herself across the distance for another kiss.

"I love you." Since coming to terms with those three words, Maya didn't seem to mind hearing them every chance Josh got.

That didn't mean that she was comfortable enough to say them back. "I know," she offered with a slow smile.

Before she could lean in for another kiss, Josh spun her around and gave her ass a playful smack to motivate her to the door.

* * *

"Will you at least come to a movie with Will and I tonight?"

Cory had been nice enough to warn Josh that he was walking into the middle of a best friend meltdown when he had texted to tell his brother that he was in route. Apparently, Maya had started off her reunion with Riley apologizing for sleeping through her phone before using it as an excuse for why she had to call it an early night if she was going to be in class early for her test.

Maya shook her head. "Because _that_ never gets uncomfortable." She took a sip of her glass and frowned. "Seriously kids, go have fun. I want to go over my notes one more time before bed anyway."

"Are you feeling all right?" Will stretched across his girlfriend with all of the confidence of a second-year Columbia pre-med student and ran a hand over Maya's forehead. "You just picked responsible collegiate behavior over an evening with your best friend."

Josh found himself hanging his jacket up with a grin, not even having to look across the room to know that Maya had just flicked Will off. "It's your fault," he announced himself only after making eye contact with Maya. Riley's head swiveled dangerously and she flew off the couch to wrap her arms around him. "Had you shown up tomorrow –when you were supposed to- she would already be in full 'wild child' mode."

Riley's eyes brightened at the prospect of a new aspect of her best friend's personality. "Maya has 'modes'?"

"College does that to a person." The blonde in question tipped her chin in greeting and finished off her glass. "This particular one is an ode to the fact that if my test score doesn't land in the high nineties tomorrow, I can kiss the thought of Schwartz signing off on my attending the Spring BFA Reception goodbye." Josh tried not to smile at the tangent that Riley had unknowingly sent Maya on. This was the fifth time in as many days that he had had the privilege of listening to Maya fret over her midterm grade costing her a prime networking opportunity.

Oh, what a difference a year made.

He didn't realize that he had actually managed to tune Maya out until Riley was climbing back into her best friend's lap, putting her head on the smaller woman's shoulder. "Do you want me to skip the movie?"

Maya's body jerked, and she had to reach out to keep Riley from falling to the floor. "Honey, no!"

"I can quiz you!"

Her best friend looked so earnest, and Maya shot Josh a quick wide eye before she started shaking her head again. "I'm perfectly capable of deciphering my crappy handwriting all by myself." Maya was trying very hard not to look back at Josh a second time. "You worked hard to get here a day early," her eyes drifted to Will's with a grin. "And poor William skipped out on Thanksgiving in Laguna with his family to come to Philly with us." The man in question nodded, not quite understanding where the blonde was going with that. The only part he knew for sure was that Maya was attempting to give him an evening with his girlfriend. "The least the boy deserves is to be able to spend two hours in a dark theater with whatever Nicholas Sparks movie you've picked out."

Will's nod slowed, and he had to bite back his sudden disinterest in going out to a movie all of a sudden.

There was a squeak from the kitchen as it apparently dawned on Cory just what Maya skipping out on the movie meant for the two that were going. Josh held his smirk as he moved across the room to assess what Topanga had stocked the fridge with. "Are we going out or staying in for dinner?" He muttered to his brother, tuning out Will's desperate attempt to backtrack.

He had to give the man props, though. Starting the case with 'you might appreciate it more if you saw it with Maya' was a pretty decent argument for changing movies.

"Out." Cory looked up from the papers he was grading to check his watch. Josh was actually tempted to ask his brother if there had actually been a reservation. "There's a new French place in the East Village that Topanga wants to try."

From behind him, Riley lamented the fact that she didn't get to pick the restaurant. Josh could practically feel Maya sigh when she pointed out that if the younger woman had arrived as scheduled, they wouldn't have had to change things last minute. He cut the blonde off by refilling her glass with some of the beer from the bottle he'd just taken from the fridge.

"When did your parents head to the beach?" He asked Will as he dropped himself into his brother's lounge chair.

"Saturday." Thankful for the interruption, Will turned to focus on Josh. "Mom and Autumn wanted to spend the weekend shopping in Pasadena before they have to deal with Dad's sister." There was a pause and he laughed to himself. "Aunt Nadine is a bit high strung."

Maya stifled her own laugh, and a twitch of her nose promised that she would share the inside joke the next time she and Josh were alone.

"Are you at the house by yourself?" Not that it really mattered. Will was half a year away from twenty now, and staying home alone in a penthouse with a butler was a touch different than the times that Alan and Amy had left Josh by himself in Philly as a teenager.

Will's brow furrowed. "You offering to let me bunk on your couch for a few days?"

There was something in the way Will had said it that garnered Josh's attention. The brevity of the statement coupled with the tilt of Will's upper lip caught him off guard. It was times like these that Josh wished there weren't two Maya's. The one that she allowed herself to be in front of Austin and their New York-based friends would have inserted herself into the conversation long before now. Hell, had Shawn left that opening, Maya would have busted in like the Kool-Aid Man.

But because Riley was still predominately perched on Maya's lap, Josh only quirked an eyebrow at her. "Can you last three days without maid service?" It wasn't his best comeback, especially since they were leaving for Philly first thing Wednesday and wouldn't be returning until Saturday –which meant that young Bixby would be living without the comforts of home for a tad longer than seventy-two hours- but it was all he had.

"Al's promised to text him pictures of ironed underwear so he doesn't go through withdrawal," Maya finally threw out. Riley's exasperated sigh spurring her into action. The Bixby family's penthouse actually wasn't far from the Upper East Side abode of the richest of their friends, but for some reason, it seemed to annoy Riley more when they pointed out Will's elitism than it did when they teased Minkus.

There was also something to be said about how Maya seemed to be on a first name basis with almost every parent, butler, and chauffeur that her small group of friends had to offer. "You had Topics today," he transitioned instead, phrasing it like a question. Riley was tapping her toe against the leg of the coffee table, and that could spell disaster if they kept up their current conversation. "Midterm go well?"

Riley's eyes widened at the thought of listening to Maya's academic successes. The blonde in question just cut her eyes to him sharply. Josh knew her schedule better than his own most days. Which meant that he knew for a fact that her midterm project had actually been due the week prior. "Got my grade back today, actually."

"And?" Riley drug the word out for several seconds, flipping herself around in Maya's lap.

Maya blinked twice, taking a deep breath. "Ninety-three."

No one was prepared for the lanky brunette bouncing in her lap. "Yay!" Will laughed, and Cory rolled his eyes.

Josh reached out a hand to steady his niece, brushing his thumb over Maya's wrist. "Not bad." He offered with a smirk. Maya had agonized over the portfolio entry for the better part of two weeks before it was due. And while the grade wasn't what she wanted, it was well over the mid-eighties that she kept saying she was going to be receiving.

With Riley still bouncing in her lap, Maya leaned back into Josh. "I'm pretty sure he graded on a curve."

"Yeah," when had his tone dropped? "Because the alternative of you being a brilliant artist is so farfetched." If the room had two fewer people in it, he would have kissed her then.

Behind them at the table, Cory dropped his pen. "Shoes and socks, kiddos." The oldest Matthews said as he grabbed his jacket off of the chair. "Topanga's grabbing Auggie and we're meeting them there."

Riley slid off Maya's lap reluctantly, reaching out for Will to steady her as she came to her feet. Josh used the distraction to snake a hand across Maya's waist, pulling her back into him when she stood. "Congratulations Gorgeous." He dropped a quick kiss on her shoulder, redirecting his hand to her empty glass when Riley started to turn around.

* * *

In the end, Maya went to the movie.

They both did, actually. More because Maya had an extremely hard time telling Riley Matthews 'no' and Josh was rapidly discovering the same issue when it came to the blonde.

Josh joined Will on his quest for a change in movie, though. Like his counterpart, he knew exactly what happened when one took those two particular women to see an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks book. And there was no way that he was sitting in a dark theater with both his niece and Maya sobbing if he could avoid it. Thankfully since it was split down the middle, Riley agreed to save the chick flick for another time, and they split popcorn and snowcaps –and gummy bears, even though Riley did get slightly upset when she was told that they were only buying her one bag and she had to eat more than the red ones- and laughed their way through a buddy cop movie.

"No!" Maya laughed and sidestepped her best friend attempting to hip check her. After leaving the theater, Riley had insisted on a leisurely stroll home, which Will pointed out only seconds later meant the group would pass by _Topanga's_. "I have no problem feeding your cocoa addiction." Another step backward, this time knocking into Josh as Riley swung again. "But I am _not_ going in there on my hard-earned week off." They had made it as far as Bleecker Street, and the steps to the café's patio were in sight.

She wasn't really exaggerating either. Maya had taken spare shifts and covered for enough of the high school staff during the month of November to ensure her Thanksgiving was café free.

Riley's pout could be seen without the aid of a street lamp. "But I'll get my cocoa much faster if you're with me."

Slamming eyes shut, Maya let out a huff. "Your mother's name is _literally_ on the building. I'm pretty sure you rate primo service all on your own."

Josh knew she'd lost the battle when Riley flipped her hair. "Please?"

It was one thing to know that Maya spoke three languages conversationally. It was another to hear her rapid-fire curse in all three. She pulled her hands out of her back pockets and spun. "Chai latte with cinnamon?" She confirmed as she rolled her eyes at the men. Josh nodded apathetically. "I hate you." She mouthed.

He couldn't help the grin peeking out of his stoic façade. "See if they've got any brownies left!"

Josh was met with a middle finger and a retreating back.

And then there were two.

"So." The word dangled in the air for longer than Josh could count. The only problem Josh had with small talk was how horrible Will was at it. "Just how bad is it working full time and getting your masters?"

Case and point.

"Easier than you'd think as long as you schedule it properly."

The bulk of Josh's Master's coursework was online curriculum. He has one on-ground course on Thursdays –coincidently when Maya has her Calculus study group- and one phone check-in call with his faculty advisor every week. He had actually been extremely lucky to be able to keep his academic advisor from his . days. Professor Ritter gave him hell every time they talked, but it was worth it to have someone who was there from the beginning.

"I've actually figured out how to have a life."

Will nodded carefully. "I'm sure Maya's happy about that."

Josh's hand froze in its ascent to his chin.

There was no way.

One quick swallow and Josh was contemplating the nuances of modern speech. Or rather his inability to produce an actual sentence.

"You two do know that the area of the island of Manhattan is only twenty-two square miles, right?" Will was studying the wrought iron table in front of them a little too hard. Josh had enough brainpower to notice that.

"Yeah, and the Empire State Building has its own postal code." Josh threw out, desperate to say _something_.

Will just nodded.

The statement was out there, and now neither one knew what to follow it up with. Josh cast a quick glance to the girls in the window, Maya behind the counter now as she helped someone with an order that most definitely didn't belong to anyone in the group.

"How?"

"Kyo Ya is Autumn's favorite restaurant." Will dropped himself into one of the chairs and turned away from the window. Both Riley and Maya could lip read, and it seemed safer to not give them the opportunity. "You-"

And for the shortest moment, Josh wondered when it was that he had forgotten that Will was still in the city during the school year. "I took her out after she turned in her Topics midterm." He supplied, cutting the younger man off. "She slaved over that thing for four days, and I wanted to make sure she actually ate something."

"That sentence would mean less to someone who didn't see you two making out on the corner of First and Seventh."

That wasn't the way Josh would have described it. They had managed to keep it as PG as possible, even though he'd snuck Maya more than her fair share of sake. She had even talked him out of a cab ride in favor of sharing a seat on public transit. He'd gotten her home without incident –street corner notwithstanding- and they had barely made it through the kitchen before she decided a different kind of celebration was in order for turning in her first midterm of her Sophomore year of college.

Forcing his mind back to the conversation at hand, Josh blinked. "You should have said 'hi'."

Will actually laughed. "I thought it best I stayed on my side of the street." The more Josh thought about it, the more the younger man was probably right. "It didn't look like a new thing."

"It's not." Josh cocked his head to the side to make sure both women were firmly behind the wall of glass before continuing. "Well, the public part is," he backtracked. "The other stuff is," he groped for a word that didn't make it sound illicit and clandestine. "Complicated."

Will followed suit, nudging his chair slightly. "'Complicated' looks good on her."

"Don't tell her that." There was a laugh inside, and Josh watched Maya hop up onto the counter to avoid stepping in a spill. "Have you told Riley?"

There was a shrug as Riley looped her arm through her best friend's and twirled them both around. "It didn't seem like my place." When Josh cocked an eyebrow, Will dropped his gaze to the floor. "There has to be a reason she doesn't know yet." He offered as the front door to the café popped open under the weight of the two ladies. "Whatever it is, it's on Maya."

For the first time since he'd been introduced to his niece's boyfriend, Josh felt like he actually understood the younger man. "She can also be scary as hell."

"That too."

A to-go cup was thrust in Josh's direction, and Maya's eyes found his. Her eyebrow quirked in silent question, and Josh mouthed 'later' without actually meeting her gaze. "It's okay that I want a cab now, right? It's getting kind of late."

Maya used his shoulder to keep herself upright as she reached across him to apprehend the arm that held his watch. "It's eleven-thirty-eight, Matthews." She announced with a huff. "Or are you worried about your old man joints on the walk home?"

They had made it back up the stairs to street level, Josh stepping up to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab. "You have class in the morning." He bopped his girlfriend on the nose with the hand that held his drink. "This is Riley's first night home, and Bixby is without a driver." Despite her best effort, Maya couldn't hide her snort behind a sip of her own cocoa. "We can be crazy people on street corners tomorrow night."

The blonde stepped forward, gearing up for an argument. Josh didn't see Will sidle up behind her, presumably to steal the cab that just pulled up for himself and Riley. "You two can be crazy now." His proximity to Maya made her jump slightly. "I'll see Riles home." The door opened easily, and the ladies shared a hug that was slightly too long and a whispered goodbye that was decidedly loud.

* * *

"Shit!"

Maya threw her purse in the direction of the couch and kept moving in the toward the bedroom.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!"

Josh flipped the light outside the front door off as he bolted the lock. He'd informed her after they had exited their own cab of the conversation that had transpired while she and Riley were procuring beverages.

The blonde hadn't stopped cursing since.

Instead of following her, Josh thumbed through the mail he'd collected on their way through the first floor. There was no telling how long Maya would need before she was ready to try to talk it out, and Josh was more than willing to wait for her. He set Maya's magazines to the side of the kitchen island and moved to the bills.

In the other room, the muttering trailed on.

He's fairly certain he hears her curse Will in as many languages as she knows, adding in a few self-flagellating sentences while she's at it. He could tell her that they both knew the risks, and they both seemed to completely forget about the med student. He could also slam his hand in the refrigerator door. Both options would probably result in the same outcome.

Maya makes it through another round of hinting that William Bixby's parents were never married before she physically throws herself onto the couch, her feet landing up somewhere toward the back.

"He hasn't told Riley yet," the blonde announces to the room. Discarding a fundraising pamphlet from the NYU alumni association, Josh finally looks up. "I would know it if he told Riley."

It was finally time for him to join in on the conversation. "He said it wasn't his to tell." This was the third time he'd gone back over his conversation with Bixby outside of _Topanga's_ with his girlfriend. "I don't think he has any intention of telling Riley."

 _He's kind of hoping you will._

But that's not a sentence that leaves Josh's mouth.

Instead, he abandons the mail to focus solely on the living area.

"I have to tell Riley."

He hadn't noticed her stand, or move over toward the window. The curtains had been left open when he'd gone out today, gossamer trailing as the central heating blew. The first thing he did notice, as he crossed the room to her, was how very still Maya was. Her arms were wrapped around herself, completely indifferent to the fact that she was standing directly over the vent.

His arms slid around her easily, and Maya melted into his embrace. "How do I tell Riley?"

"Technically speaking," Josh brushed his lips against the back of her hair. "It only takes five words." Maya stiffened and he pulled her tighter. "Two if you do without proper nouns."

Her laugh was choppy, a strangled sound that was nothing like he was hoping for. "Naturally, the one time I'm trying to be serious…" The end of her sentence hung as she took a shaky breath. Josh had to force himself not to think about the fingers that ran over the compass on his wrist absently.

He dipped his chin, allowing him to run his lips up her bare shoulder. He was most likely going to regret this next conversation. "How did you tell her about Lucas?"

Maya's breath caught. "I kind of didn't."

"Excuse me?" Her face was buried in the muscle of his forearm, but Josh was pretty sure he had heard her correctly.

"I didn't." She said again, tilting her head so she could lift his arms. "She caught us arguing in the hallway when we got back from touring Yale." Because of course Riley did. Josh took comfort in the fact that Maya's reluctance seemed to be an ongoing theme in her relationships. "Farkle already knew and I kept putting it off, and then I didn't really have a choice."

"We can argue in public if it'll help you at all."

They wouldn't, though. Josh knew that before offering. Neither one of them would purposefully pick a fight regardless of the circumstances. It was one lesson that they had learned in Italy.

Hands slid awkwardly around to his chest, and Maya used her leverage on him to turn herself around. "I don't think that's going to help at this juncture." She offered with a sardonic smile. One hand wandered to his belt while the other toyed with the material of his shirt right above his tattoo. "And I don't want her introduction to us to be in the middle of a disagreement."

"I appreciate that." He dipped his knees a touch, to bring them eye to eye. With a smile, he said, "She's going to be okay with this." When Maya looked away, he brushed their noses. "Riley loves you, and all she wants is for you to be happy." Maya's eyes dropped shut, and he could see the frustration brewing.

"And for Pluto to become a planet again." His lips curled and Maya melted against his chest. "How much would you hate me if I wanted to wait until we come back from Philly?" Josh smirked against her hair and Maya bristled. "I don't think I could handle her disappointment all week."

Amazingly enough, Josh understood the sentiment. "Telling Riley has always been your thing." He hoped his tone fell somewhere between reassuring and supportive, and that she would take it at face value.

Her humph into his chest only told him that he wasn't as successful as he hoped to be. "She'd just go back to New Haven hating me."

"Okay." Josh pulled back enough to wrap his hands around her shoulders. "No." Maya scoffed again, and his head shook. "Riley is not going to hate you." Maya's eyes rolled and Josh cut her off. "There is no universe in existence where Riley would. Ever. _Hate._ You." The blonde at arm's length became the blonde in his arms when Maya stepped up to press her nose against his chest. "She might be mildly upset and more than a little vocal about it. But not hate."

"I hid _us_ ," she murmured into his chest. "I went behind her back –sometimes in front of her face- for an entire year, and hid us. 'Oh Peaches' isn't going to be the end of it."

Running one hand up and down her spine, Josh used the other to tilt Maya's face toward him. "So let her be mad." He dipped his knees to bring their eyes level. "Let her yell, and scream, and do whatever it is that Riley needs to do." Her lip quivered, and Josh just smiled. "And when she's gotten all of that out of her system, she's going to run over here, kick me out of my own apartment, and want nothing more than to hear you gush about your boyfriend."

There was only a handful of seconds before Maya rolled wet eyes. "I'm still not sure I'm calling you that." When he didn't respond, Maya sank further into his arms, letting out a long groan that sounded suspiciously like a word that rhymed with 'truck'. "It's after midnight." All of her weight was now resting against Josh. "I have a midterm in eight hours, and I haven't even pulled out my note cards."

 _Supportive Boyfriend: Round Two._

Josh bent slightly, hoisting her into his arms. "Sleep first." He dropped his lips to her hair. "I'll make coffee and get you up early so I can quiz you."

"I've said it before," Maya's body went limp in his arms, "And I'll say it again. You're too good to me."

"Yeah well, I kinda love you." Josh dumped her on the bed as he moved past so he could discard his shirt, completely ignoring the squeak when she almost bounced onto the floor.


	47. Interlude: Something Just Like This

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 4,771

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

When Maya told Shawn that a two-hour car ride with Riley and Josh would be no big deal, and that she didn't need to ride to Philly with him, it was entirely possible she was delusional. She had also been banking on being able to talk Will into riding in front so she wouldn't have been tempted to reach for Josh's hand half a dozen times.

Josh couldn't wait to be in the position to point out that him officially banning her from controlling the radio twenty-three minutes into the trip meant that she was grossly unsuccessful.

The tension was radiating from his girlfriend as she climbed out of his Grand Cherokee, as she didn't even bother to wait for him to kill the engine. A shaky hand slammed the passenger door shut as she raced to the hatch back to collect her overnight bag.

"You okay?" He was exceptionally grateful that Riley had decided to force Will into helping her clean out the back seat –and Maya's- before they collected their own bags.

Maya lifted the strap of her weekender over her head cleanly, turning away from the vehicle to look at him. "I have no idea why I thought four days in close quarters –where I can't so much as touch you- was a good idea."

His eyes were surveying the front of the vehicle even as his hand slid around her waist to anchor at her hip. "You and Riley can go for a walk and you can solve that problem."

It was oddly satisfying to know that she was rolling her eyes at him without actually looking. "We're about to be trapped in close quarters with every single member of your immediate family." His hand dropped the same time her voice did, both hyperaware of his niece's position relative to their own. "Are you sure you want to add fuel to Riley's fire this close to arrival?"

"Suggestion retracted." Josh grabbed Maya's pillow and tucked it under his arm with one of his own. And yes, the humor that he was bringing pillows from his 'grown-up' apartment to his childhood home was not lost on him –thank you, Maya, for reminding him every chance she got. "I love you," He kissed her temple. "I think my car is as clean as it's gonna get." He announced to the two still in the vehicle. "I'm also pretty sure that if we don't make it inside in the next three minutes, Ma is coming out here to get us." A quick glance to Maya, and he shook his head. "And no one really wants that."

They made it as far as the cobblestones on the front walk before the door swung open, Amy flittering out into the cold to wrap her son in a hug. "You're here!" She squealed in his ear, kissing his cheek at the same time. "I can't believe it!"

Maya couldn't help the giggle, expertly side-stepping Amy and wincing in sympathy as the next bone breaking hug went to Riley. "I almost forgot how much of a mama's boy you are, Matthews." It was Josh's turn to roll his eyes, Maya's grin still firmly in place as she managed to make it inside the house without a hug of her own.

Her win was short-lived, however, as she managed to walk straight into the patriarch of the Matthews' clan, who wrapped both arms around her firmly and dropped a kiss on her head. "I wasn't entirely sure you'd make it this time."

Maya was allowed to take a step back so Alan could greet his son. "It's a Matthews Thanksgiving, sir." Josh had to bit his tongue to keep from smiling at the fact that she still hadn't figured out what she was supposed to call her boyfriend's father –who was, coincidently, her best friend's grandfather- so she stuck to generic terms. "Where else would I be?"

"Where else, indeed" Alan gave her a wink as Amy cleared the threshold.

"Morgan and Timothy will be here later tonight." Any had somehow acquired Will's overnight bag and was slowly herding the young adults to the stairs. "So, we've had to move some people around to make sure that everyone fit."

"I'm not giving up my room, Ma." It probably went without saying, Josh being the self-proclaimed favorite of his siblings, but he wasn't going to be pushed onto the couch if he could avoid it.

Amy led the way down the hall and pushed open the door to Josh's room with her hip, simultaneously reaching across the hall to crack the door to the guest room. "I wouldn't dream of it, Sweetie." Her smile was infectious, and Josh's lips turned up themselves. "I figured we could put the girls in here," she gestured to the door in front of her, "And William could bunk with you."

He at least waited for Riley and Will to wander into the guest room to settle her bags. "I'm spending four days trapped in close quarters with every single member of my immediate family," he repeated Maya's earlier sentiments back to her, tossing his bag in the general direction of his bed. It didn't quite make it, landing instead on the air mattress that his mom had so helpfully set up in preparation for their arrival. "And not only do I have to ignore the fact that this is the first time in weeks I'll be sleeping alone, but I have to do it _while_ sharing a room with my niece's boyfriend."

"If Will doesn't strike your fancy," Maya was slightly louder than Josh expected her to be before he realized that she intended it that way. She smirked in the direction of the guest room, winking to no one in particular. "I'm sure you and I can work something out."

"Why?" Cory popped out of his bedroom door with a harsh cry, his eyes wide as he pointed to his face and then back to Maya. "Why do you say things like that?"

With all eyes on her exaggerated sweet smile, the blonde chose that time to drop her hand between her bag and Josh's leg, running her nails up the back of his jean-clad thigh. "Just to watch your face turn that color."

His brother huffed warily, sulking back into the room from whence he came, and Riley launched herself across the hall. "I'm so glad you're here!" She squealed as she wrapped both arms around her best friend.

Maya kissed the brunette on the cheek before her eyes swept up to Josh's. There was a twinge of melancholy in them. Ever since she resolved to speak to Riley on Saturday when they returned to the city, these moments had come closer and closer together. They both knew the conversation was inevitable now, but it didn't lesson the sting that Maya was certain would come with Riley's knowledge.

He nodded slowly, because what else could he do, and kicked his bedroom door open just a little bit farther so he could wave Will into his new accommodations.

* * *

Getting settled had taken decidedly less time than Amy apparently thought it would. Josh and Auggie were ordered to bring in firewood while Amy tuttered about in Morgan's room, remaking the bed for the third time. Once they had realized that manual labor wasn't on everyone's agenda, Maya had commandeered the love seat, sketch pad in hand, while Riley and her highlighter attacked a very large Psych textbook.

He's pretty sure Will napped.

Or he was napping until Alan called the family into the kitchen for a not so famous pow-wow.

"Davio's?" Josh is sitting on the counter, a position that earned him more than a few swats with his mother's wooden spoon as a kid. His father is leaning against the fridge, arms crossed over his chest in a way that would be stern if he weren't Alan Matthews. "Really?" Josh wasn't sure if he was protesting that the family was going out to eat at the only place they ate regularly that requires a collared shirt and jacket, or the fact that it would be smack dab in the middle of the first night they're spending together. "Why couldn't we all just go to Chubby's?"

Cory agrees with the feeling, not that he's dumb enough to say it out loud. Josh takes a little pride in recognizing the longing for a greasy burger and curly fries the night before they're all banned from the kitchen in their mother's quest to fill the house with holiday goodness. His sister-in-law –who Josh notes doesn't look the least bit surprised at the new dinner plans- rolls her eyes.

"Joshua Gabriel." Those two words sound better coming from his girlfriend's lips. And yes, Josh realizes that two words into what is most likely going to be an abbreviated lecture aren't the best time for him to be contemplating that. "This is the first time your mother has been able to have all of you kids back under this roof at the same time since you graduated high school." It's a slight exaggeration, but Josh isn't going to point that out either. They had all been home for the Christmas following. Eric had shown up just for the day itself, and Morgan flew home on Boxing Day, but that was neither here nor there. "If she wants dinner to be special tonight, it's going to be special." He nods along with Alan, knowing what's coming up next. "Damnit."

No one smiles. They wouldn't dare. And Alan pushes off of the appliance and heads to the back stairs half a second before Amy shouts for him as if he knew it was coming.

"We'll all go out to Chubby's tomorrow for lunch." Cory assures him when Alan is out of hearing range. Or at least Josh thought his brother was talking to him. It had been Shawn who nodded back.

"Davio's?" Will may not have visited before, but he had heard stories of the infamous restaurant. Mostly from Cory. "I may have to make a few calls." He palms his phone, eyes closing in thought. "Or go shopping. You have clothing stores here, right?"

Maya's lips curl as Cory shouts 'it's called a mall!' as his wife drags him from the room. "You didn't bring a suit and tie?" The blonde teases with her tongue planted firmly in cheek. "Did you learn _nothing_ from Italy?"

"Did you?" Will counters with a tilt of his head. "Farkle's not here to bail you out, Shorty."

The blonde sidles up to Will with a smug smile. "I might have brought an option or two." Josh knows for a fact that it was because Riley had suggested it, but decides to not present this information. "And a killer pair of heels."

She's looking over her shoulder, eyes dancing as they connect with his.

Again, Cory seems to appear from nowhere, motioning to the blonde with two fingers. "Now she's smirking." He glares at Will with all of the annoyance he can muster. "Why is Maya smirking?"

Riley's hand wraps firmly around her boyfriend's arm, pulling him in the direction of the back door. "Let's go play in the snow." The lilt of her voice insinuates that it's a suggestion. The way she's eyeing her father announces that it's not.

"Front door!" Maya announces as she rolls her eyes. Riley turns Will around, pushing him through the double doors just as the blonde's hands land on Josh's thighs. "And put your jacket on!"

* * *

Joshie!"

Even over Morgan's high pitched excitement, Josh could hear the gears in Maya's head turning. " _Joshie_?" She rolled the word around her tongue slowly, watching the only female Matthew child release her brother so he could face her.

"There is no way I could possibly convince you to forget you heard that, is there?"

Her nose scrunched minutely as she shook her head. "That one's gonna stick for a while," Maya promised him, stepping up for her own hug. "Hey, Blondie."

"Hey, Blondie." The taller woman stepped back and forced Maya to arm's length. Josh could see Maya's hand twitching again as if signaling him for something. "Dayum." A quick once over, and Morgan laughed. "Whatever you're doing looks good on you." Blue eyes widened, and Josh wished that he could try to tell her that Riley most likely got the same reaction. "And I love this sweater! I may have to follow you kids back to the city and take you girls shopping!"

The merino wool sweater in question was one that Amy had bought Josh when they had come to town for the holidays the year prior. He wasn't entirely sure when it was that Maya had appropriated it, and he had to agree it looked pretty good on her, so he didn't really care.

She took the compliment in stride though, gesturing to herself and then flicking her wrist back to Morgan. "This old thing?" She sang,

"Who let Sir William here play in the yard without a jacket?" Morgan shrugged off her own, hung it on the banister –a habit that neither Matthews parent would ever be able to break their kids of- and turned back to her brother. "I'm pretty sure med students learn first year that that's a no-no."

Josh wondered if it actually needed saying that the only reason Will was without was because the jacket he was helping his girlfriend rid herself of was his.

He should have known it was a lead-up. "And I could have sworn Dad said that your new somethin' somethin' was making an appearance this year."

He didn't have to be facing Maya to know her back was now ramrod straight. In truth, all he needed to see was the way Riley's eyebrows perked.

"Josh has a girlfriend?"

 _Fuck_.

"That's the rumor." Morgan dropped her beanie on top of her jacket. "Where is the woman who captured my baby brother's heart?"

Every curse Josh had ever heard ran through his mind at the exact same time. He blinked a few times, desperate trying to will the deer caught in headlights off of his face.

He just didn't understand. The end was almost literally in sight for this damned secret, and yet some gremlin kept jamming the works. He actually wouldn't be shocked if all of this attention caused Maya to renege and decide to wait again.

"Her mom flew up to spend the holiday in the city." Shawn had the benefit of stealth when he appeared at the top of the stairs. His grin only widened when he realized who had Josh so flustered. Damn him. "Personally, I think she's just not prepared for all of these crazy Matthews women." He was suddenly years younger, skipping the last two steps and landing solidly. His eyes shone as he pretended to finally notice Morgan. "Hey, Weasel."

"Crazy Matthews women?" Morgan pulled her pseudo-brother to her, tucking her head under Shawn's chin. "That why you're still single?" Josh didn't catch what the older man's response was, but they both were smiling when he released her and reached out to shake Tim's hand. Morgan tossed the room another look. "Ma in the kitchen?"

"Upstairs with Cor and Topanga." Shawn pointed the way he came. "Apparently they're trying to figure out where to put Auggie that doesn't involve anyone sleeping on that ancient trundle." As if to make his point, Topanga's objection to something could be heard through the ceiling. "I think I'm _this_ close to volunteering for couch duty."

The blonde nodded sagely. "That might actually be the end of my brother's marriage." She kissed her husband and slid under Shawn's arm, not bothering to tell anyone that she was going up to intervene.

While Josh was relieved that his sister was no longer attempting to read him like a book, his next problem was watching him from his niece's eyes, head cocked to the side as if he was about to sprout fairy wings and fly around the living room.

Shawn chuckled, nodding to Morgan's husband. "You still a microbrewery fan, Tim?"

"Is there ever a point where someone stops being one?" Timothy picked Morgan's coat and hat off of the banister, already knowing where Shawn was steering the conversation.

"We've got some Sixpoint in the kitchen if you want to give it a try." Both men were already heading in that direction.

Maya rolled her eyes, realizing that Shawn had both saved them from one awkward line of questioning and set them up for another all in the same sentence. "You drink my C.R.E.A.M. and I'm going to kick your ass!" She called after them, pointing to her eyes with two fingers before moving them to Shawn's direction.

Tim stepped into the kitchen before Shawn, who turned around and leveled Maya with a look. "You do realize that you can't actually _legally_ drink, right?"

"But I'm at home." Maya had turned, completely blocking out Riley's wild eyes for a moment. "And I'm with my family." Her arms came to cross against her chest. "And the beer was procured for me by my loving father."

Shawn cut her off with a huff. "That beer was 'procured' for you by Mister Gullible over there." Josh pulled his lip between his teeth and closed his eyes, wishing that Maya hadn't chosen this particular moment to point out the fact that he had gone out of his way to obtain her favorite beer.

"And yet," her smile turned smug, "You transported it here anyway."

A clenched jaw was the only hint Josh had that Shawn hated that Maya was right. They had dropped the beer at Cory's along with the pies that Katy made and the fresh produce they were asked to grab from the Greenmarket for Topanga. There had been absolutely no confusion as to who would be drinking the cream ale. Hell, the blonde had all but written her name on the cans. And that didn't take into account the four bottles of Sweet Action that was currently in Shawn's fridge the last time Josh and Maya had dinner with him.

It appeared that Shawn decided that ignoring her was the best option. Instead, he huffed and turned to follow Tim into the kitchen.

When Maya turned back around, Riley was still staring at her uncle, head tilted to the right. "Uncle Josh?"

"Niece Riley?"

"You started seeing someone?" There was something familiar about the lilt of Riley's voice when she posed the question. It would take hours to realize that –down to the awed smile- they had almost had this exact conversation before.

He'd dodged the question then.

There was no way in hell he would be able to get away with that a second time.

Josh hoped that it was a testament to his conviction to his relationship that he met Riley's eyes with a smile and a nod. "I have."

"And you didn't think this was something that you should have shared with the class?" Riley took a step forward, her brown eyes full and round.

He didn't even have to guess that she had learned this change in tactic from Maya. "You know it's just as creepy when your dad does that, right?" He started. Maya coughed beside him and he smiled. "I thought it best to ease the family into this revelation," he answered smartly.

"Why?"

"Because she's _insane_ ," Josh started slowly, looking from his niece to Maya and back again. "She's extraordinary, and awe-inspiring, and completely certifiable." His smile brightened, and Riley's eyebrow twitched again. "And she is absolutely terrified of moving too fast." He didn't dare glance in Maya's direction then, his lips quirking. "And since I'm absolutely terrified of losing her, you just have to miss out on being in the know just a little while longer."

It only took a handful of seconds before Riley's eyes widened farther, her bottom lip popping out in a pout. "That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" She jumped at her uncle then, arms wrapping around his neck as she squealed into his ear.

He didn't miss Maya's wink, or the look that passed between her and Will –although both would deny it- and for just a moment he was content with how his day was playing out.

* * *

Eric Matthews arrived smack dab in the middle of an argument over neck ties and a meltdown over the loss of a belt. No one noticed his driver park the Lexus on the street, or his assistant unloading his luggage into the apartment over the garage before being dismissed for the rest of the week. The oldest Matthews child traded his suit for a polo and jeans and was on the couch watching cartoons with Auggie for a solid fifteen minutes before Amy realized it wasn't Cory she'd been asking if the girls were ready.

He'd been crossing the room when Eric finally stood. Josh was pulled backward by the hood of his sweatshirt, Eric's arms coming around him solidly. "My brotha."

"My brotha." He returned, releasing Maya's hip as to not knock her over as well.

"My brothas." Cory was in the doorway now –having been summoned by his mother's high pitched squeal- and pounced, bringing all three of them down into a heap on the floor.

"Jesus Cor!" Eric rolled to his left, narrowly missing his youngest brother's face with his knee. "I swear you weigh a ton." He was laughing as he sat up, rubbing what had to now be a bruised hip.

Josh didn't worry about sparing Cory from stray body parts, smacking him with a wayward arm so he could roll over and push himself to his knees. Amy grumbled at the missed photo opportunity while Topanga used the distraction to force the aforementioned necktie on her youngest.

"Oh look," Maya perched herself on the back of the couch, hair already pinned up in a lazy curly chignon. "A Matthews brother's sandwich." She rolled her eyes emphatically and sighed. "And I wasn't invited."

While Cory sputtered, hand missing the coffee table slamming back onto the floor and sending him falling back into Josh, Eric laughed whole heartedly. "You can catch the next one Mabel." The senator stepped over Josh's head to drop himself onto the cushion immediately in front of the blonde.

She wasn't expecting the couch to move, and Maya had to brace herself on Eric's shoulder so she didn't fall over. "Promises, promises," she muttered as Josh and Cory finally pulled themselves to their feet.

Amy caught Eric's gaze, flicking her eyes to Maya's holy jeans and NYU hoodie with parental judgment. "Do you need help picking an outfit?" She asked cautiously. Josh hadn't been around to see the way that his mother interacted with Topanga before she married his brother, but he was pretty sure that that was where Amy Matthews invented her infamous tact.

Wide eyes scanned the room. Eric was still in his polo –Josh wasn't sure he had been told where the family was going to be eating but he knew that it wouldn't take long for his older brother to don the appropriate apparel- and everyone else was in various stages of getting dressed for dinner. He was actually hoping that his mother would buy his button down and sweater as dressy enough so he wouldn't have to borrow one of his dad's ties. She didn't even consider herself before she shook her head. "I'm good."

"You planning on staying here tonight, Gorgeous?" Josh spoke before his mom could,

Maya shrugged. "Riley's taken over the bedroom and Will is discussing the merits of his outfit purchases with the bathroom mirror." Even Josh had to admit that was a good reason as to why she wasn't ready yet. After all, it had taken them three hours in the mall before Will had decided that he had bought enough to begin considering family dinner. "Even if I managed to find my clothes under the rubble of Riley's suitcase explosion, I have nowhere to change them."

Cory's mouth dipped.

Topanga and Amy glanced at each other. One of them would have to go up and urge Riley along. Neither of them wanted it to be them.

And that certainly didn't solve the problem of Maya not being dressed.

"If Will's in the bathroom, you can take my room." Josh decided, dropping down next to his brother. "There's a lock on my side of the door, and Bix can get over it."

It was a good thing that the family currently hanging out in the living room didn't need to be told that Morgan had gotten it exactly right when she said that his girlfriend was joining them for the holiday. Maya slid off the couch –flipping herself around and coming down over Eric's lap- and hopped onto Josh's knees, dropping a kiss on his lips. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips as they brushed a second time.

He ignored his mother's bemused smile as his girlfriend headed to the stairs. "And put my hoodie back!" He rolled his eyes, reaching for his phone.

* * *

When he found her half an hour later, he had to marvel at her ability to throw herself together. The chignon that he had assumed she had donned for dinner was actually a place holder for a messy half-up fishtail braid. Tendrils of hair framed her perfectly made-up face, which was without the glasses for the first time all day.

The rest of her was –in Josh's opinion- without flaw as well. Maya'd gone with an off the shoulder ivory ribbed-knit sweater with a folded neckline and extra-long sleeves. Instead of the flowy skirt that he might have expected her to pair with it, she'd opted for a two-toned wool-crepe pencil skirt with two sets of pinball-inspired gold buttons and a very modest slit showing the barest hint of knee.

And to top it all off, she was wearing those damn Jimmy Choos Farkle bought for her in Italy.

The gleam in her eye belied her perfectly chaste smile. "Am I acceptable?"

"More than." His fingers ghosted the crown of antlers resting against her collarbone. Josh would never get tired of the rush that tore through his veins whenever Maya leaned into his touch, tilting her chin up to his. " _Gorgeous_."

Josh still wasn't sure how he'd been able to apply so many connotations to two little syllables.

There was only a breath of lag before Josh bridged the gap between them. His hand slipped easily around her hip to the small of her back for the leverage to slam their lower bodies together. He felt rather than heard Maya's gasp before his tongue gently swept past her lips in contrast.

One of them moved, and Maya's shoulders slammed into the closed door to Josh's bedroom.

Not that either of them actually noticed.

There was a chuckle and a cough, although Josh was pretty sure he recognized them out of order, and he cursed as he pulled himself from Maya's lips. "Kinda busy here." Oh, how he wished he might be able to capture Maya's nervous smile one day. She tucked her nose into his collarbone without even attempting to identify who caught them.

"I'd give you a solid 'as you were'," Eric was proudly leaning against the wall on the other side of the bathroom. While the bulk of the family that knew about the two of them were extremely cautious –no direct mention, no innuendo, and most certainly no pointing out when they had been caught- Eric was entirely nonplussed that he'd just wandered up on the start of a very heated necking session in the middle of the upstairs hall. "But Ma's trying to get the cars loaded up. Both of your absences have been noted, and your presences requested."

Blue eyes slammed shut as Maya took a breath of his cologne. "I need a jacket." The ease in which the sentence popped out of Maya's mouth was almost scary. "I can't find my pea coat." Her gaze shifted from Josh to Eric, smirk returning.

His older brother gave her an impressed nod.

Realizing that he was expected to remedy this particular setback, Josh released Maya and flicked his bedroom door open with a brush of the knob. He reached around the door jamb to the wooden coatrack he had stolen from Cory's room in high school. He managed to find the coat he was looking for by touch and, without moving anything other than his hand and torso, he tossed his own double-breasted navy coat at the blonde."Did you even bring your own?"

The gasp was fake. The giggle behind it was most likely not supposed to escape. "Maybe." Maya shouldered it expertly, flipping her braid out from under the lapel.

Eric led the way to the stairwell, wrapping his arm around the petite blonde's shoulder and laughing all the way to the car.


	48. Interlude: Incomplete

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 7,288

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

It was a good dream.

Josh clung to the vestiges of unconsciousness for a long as he could manage.

Because, he might have been fully aware of the fact that he was in his full-sized bed in his childhood bedroom, but as long as he kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady he could pretend that he was stretched across the king-sized monstrosity that he still wasn't used to in New York.

He had to admit that his imagination was better than he gave himself credit for. The sound of the city might have been missing, but the ever-present weight of his blonde bedmate was true to form. He could even feel the tickle of stray hair on his chin and breathe in her shampoo.

A smooth thigh shifted over his and Josh's eyes snapped open.

It seemed he was only adept at imagining half of the equation.

Her fingers drifted over his abs, and Maya took in the scent of his collarbone before shifting again.

"This is in no way, shape, or form a complaint." He began, slipping his hand under the hem of her sleep shirt. "But isn't the first rule of hiding our relationship from your best friend that you don't climb into bed with me the first chance you get?"

Maya actually giggled.

"Technically this would be the second." When she rolled to her hip, Josh spared a quick glance around the room. He wasn't sure if he was more thankful that Maya had closed –and most likely locked- the door behind her, or that Will's bed was made and the younger man was nowhere to be found. "Morgan took Riley and Will running this morning."

That didn't solve the tension. "The neighborhood isn't that big, Gorgeous."

"And if they were just running around the block, I would have joined them." The rolling of her eyes was almost a given. She dropped a kiss to his shoulder and leaned her body into his. "Blondie said 'Peace Valley Park' and '6 miles' and I opted to be the first in line for Alan Matthews chocolate chip waffles instead."

"Of course, you did." Her entire body shook with his laugh.

"Is that judgment in your voice?" Tiny fingers dug into the dip of his hip and his entire body twitched. He knew how this would play out, and he had no desire to fall off this particular bed this morning.

Twisting his hips, Josh managed to capture the prodding in his own hands, bringing them up to his lips. "I love you," he substituted when he realized that he didn't have a proper explanation for the joy he found in her predictability. Her hand slipped free, wrapping around the scruff of his neck, and pulling him toward her.

Josh was all too willing to go.

Their kisses were long and soft, nothing heated, nothing rushed. They both knew that this particular make out session wasn't going to be ending the way that many in their bed did, but there was no reason for them not to just enjoy the moment. Maya's shoulder dipped again, bringing Josh's body over hers and she wrapped her calf around his thigh.

There was a shout from below them just as Josh pulled away to breathe and, instead of returning to her lips, he dropped his forehead to her breastbone. " _That_ ," it took him a moment to regain his voice, nodding to the door as his mother called them again. "Is going to be judgment."

Positions changed again as the blonde in his arms chuckled. The calf slipped higher, her knee to his hip now, and with a nudge, they rolled so she was straddling him. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm the first girl you've ever had up here?"

Her voice was challenging, and the triumphant smile a lie would have earned him might have been worth it. Josh leaned up to her, catching her hips between his palms and brushing their noses together. "The first one she knows about." He watched the twinkle in her eye brighten. "With the door closed."

It was Maya's turn to laugh, shaking both of their bodies and sliding Maya further down his abs to line them up perfectly for actions Josh knew they had no time to consider.

"Josh!" The voice was closer now, cutting off Maya's next words. The muffled echo down the hall telling Josh that his mother wasn't facing his bedroom door. Josh might have to reconsider his line about his mother knowing she was there. "Maya, are you up yet sweetie?"

"In more ways than one," Maya muttered softly.

She took a breath, presumably to announce her current location, and Josh shook his head. "I'll be right down." He called out, brushing his lips against hers in apology.

"Wake Maya when you do," Amy called through the door, facing the right direction now. "She made a fuss about being here for waffles, and I don't want to know what happens if she misses them."

A quick 'will do', and Maya dissolved into giggles against his chest.

"So how many have you snuck in without her knowing?" She trailed a finger from his belly button to his tattoo expectantly.

Unlike so many of the conversational traps that Josh fell prey to with his girlfriend, this one was lit up like a Macy's Parade float. "Only one that matters." He told her softly,

"Good answer."

Another kiss, slow and sweet, and Maya shifted off of his hips. "You might want to leave through the bathroom." Josh cautioned her as she headed to the door to the hallway. "In case there's someone else in the hall."

Wicked gleam back in place, Maya tossed his hoodie in his direction announcing that she would see him shortly and popped the lock. She didn't spare another glance backward as she turned and strolled down the hall.

Josh couldn't find it in him to be mad that she hadn't shut the door behind her.

* * *

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Amy Matthews was beaming from behind the kitchen island, clearing the last traces of breakfast from everywhere but the table and turning the focus of her kitchen to pies and casseroles. The turkey had been baking since the night before, ham placed in the second oven shortly before sunrise to ensure flavor. There were yams and fresh green beans in Tupperware containers, and Cory had already been chased off with a spoon for attempting to taste test the filling for the apple-berry pies that had been setting in the fridge overnight.

Even short the four that had gone running that morning, it was still a full house. Topanga and Shawn shared the morning paper on one side of the table, Cory reading over his best friend's shoulder with a cup of coffee. Maya had apparently helped herself to two portions of waffles –on two different plates no less- one with a slathering of syrup, and one noticeably without, and Eric was thumbing through what appeared to be finished cavasses on her phone. Auggie was absent, although the kitchen door was propped open, and he could hear the sounds of the NBC Parade pre-show on the television. He considered peeking his head in anyway, just to see his father pretending not to be asleep in anticipation of the big games.

He paused at the counter long enough to drop a kiss to the apple of his mother's cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving, Ma." He took a big whiff of the room, making sure his mother noticed. "Everything smells wonderful."

While Amy beamed, Shawn dropped a piece of bacon to his plate. "Suck up." He mumbled between overexaggerated coughs.

Finally approaching the table, Josh shrugged. "And?" There was a coffee cup in front of them then, and Maya only wiggled her wrist once before he relieved her of it. He might have expected the caffeinated sugar high that was Maya's usually doctored coffee, but what hit his tongue was nothing but dark roast with a touch of sugar, which meant Maya had made the coffee with him specifically in mind. "Good morning, Gorgeous." He didn't even try to steal the lone piece of bacon off of her plate when he bent to press a kiss to her neck.

She hummed his name, leaning into his lips before turning slightly to plant her own in the corner of his mouth. "Second plate's yours."

If they weren't the center attraction in a room with the bulk of his family, his next words would most likely have been different. "Thank you," Josh said instead, reaching across her for the plate she put together for him, dropping a kiss to the top of her head as he moved to the counter on the other side of the table by the fridge. He kept an eye on his mother as he propped himself on it.

When Amy didn't flinch, He pulled one leg under himself. Cory's eyes rolled even as he laughed. There were certain benefits to being the youngest.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus!" Riley burst through the back door, taking three steps and flinging herself at the table.

"Wrong holiday," Maya pulled managed to pull her coffee cup out of the way right before Riley landed. When Will and Morgan cleared the threshold, Tim trailing behind juggling water bottles, Riley slid from the table to the floor. "Somebody hasn't gone running in a while, has she?"

If her eyes had the ability to open, Riley most likely would have glared at her best friend.

"She kept up," Morgan helped her husband set the bottles on the counter, close enough to the sink to be considered proper but far enough as to not die from getting too close to Amy's prep.

Her bottom lip completely engulfed by her top, Maya gestured the floor with two fingers. "And then?"

"The second we got to the car." Will reached over the blonde's plate to grab an empty glass and the orange juice carafe.

The grunt was unceremonious, and Josh noted that no one even bothered to look down.

Shrugging offhandedly, Maya smiled at Morgan. "Sounds like fun."

Josh's sister had finished off her bottle of water, dropping it with the others. "You should join us tomorrow." The blondes shared a look.

And yet again, Josh wished he had positioned himself so he could see his girlfriend's eyes. "Six miles after a Tryptophan trip?" Shawn's eyes lit up this time, watching Maya square off against Morgan. "Yeah, no."

He honestly couldn't help himself. Josh swallowed the mouthful of coffee he had just swigged and raised an eyebrow. "Afraid you can't keep up?"

Something crossed between Topanga and his sister, and Riley boosted her top half off of the floor to watch Maya smile wickedly. "I know what you're doing." She pointed in his direction. Morgan smiled as she braced her hip on the counter. He just knew that she was waiting for Maya to tell him that she wasn't going to take the bait. "And just for that, I'm pulling your ass out of bed to run with us."

"Seeing is believing." He offered noncommittally.

"UGH!" Riley flopped herself back onto the floor with an ostentatious huff. "Can we go back to me dying?"

* * *

They were all kicked out of the kitchen twenty minutes after that.

Amy was at least nice enough to allow them to keep their coffee cups; Cory and Shawn managed to snag a bag of chips each to share as they watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

There was only one joke about how they could be watching it from the balcony of the Minkus penthouse if they were still in the city.

Then it was time for everyone to entertain themselves. Riley offered to help in the kitchen because she wanted to taste test, and Maya opted to read on the couch, because making it through midterms was only half the battle. Cory spread paperwork out in the den so he could grade with Shawn on his laptop next to him. Josh had absolutely no idea what it was that Eric had put on the television -but Will seemed interested- and Morgan was thumbing through a magazine, so it wasn't like she cared. He didn't try to pay attention, though. Choosing instead to shift his weight and bring the studying Maya's form down onto his own.

"She's going to ask for volunteers soon." Morgan still hadn't looked up from the page she was perusing, but her head was cocked to the side now.

Josh hadn't been paying attention to the kitchen door. He probably should have, especially with Maya practically perched on his lap, but then again, they hadn't been as stringent as they should have since arriving in Philly.

Maya shifted her hips, bringing her rear down on one of his thighs, and blinked. "Volunteers?"

"I'll set the first table," If Morgan heard the blonde ask for clarification, she didn't bother to give it. "but I refuse to set the second."

"Kiddie Table." It seemed to catch up to her now, and Maya slumped into the couch with a groan. "Does this mean that someone has to die before I get to sit with the grownups?" Josh wondered if anyone would notice if he kissed the pout from her lips.

Shawn whistled as he entered the room, smiling when Maya took the hint and pushed off of her boyfriend, returning to other end of the couch and kicking her feet out over Josh's. Morgan still hadn't looked up. "Cory's in the den by himself." She offered as Riley popped the door open with her rear. "How bad do you want it?"

"There is no such thing as a kiddie table!" Amy shouted from the now open door.

"We go by age." Topanga wandered into the room with napkins from the linen closet. "Alan and Amy through Cory and I are at the dining table."

Shawn's finger encompassed everyone in the living room sans Eric. "The rest of you are at the folding table."

"Pretty sure that's the long-form explanation of a 'kiddie table'." Maya pointed out with a sigh.

"it would be," Shawn grinned maniacally as he seemed to be the only one to get out of the glare that they felt and didn't see. "except Auggie's at the dining table with his parents and you guys get Eric."

* * *

In the end, they had done away with the 'kiddie table'.

There had been a long-form discussion about separating the family. The folding table wouldn't fit in the dining room without shifting chairs, and Alan's argument of just sticking the remainder at the kitchen table didn't go over well with his wife, who apparently couldn't bear to have any of her children out of her sight during the meal. While they debated pros and cons of resituating everyone, Josh and Morgan pulled out the chair at the head of the dining room table, shifted the wood from the center of the room, and moved the folding table into position.

There was a dip, and it only really mattered when Eric almost spilled gravy all over himself because he placed the boat on the uneven portion, but they were able to fit all thirteen of them at one single table without anyone losing limbs.

Poor Cory was regulated to running back and forth to the kitchen because his chair blocked the doorway though, but that was a sacrifice everyone else was willing to make.

"There's a tradition," Alan started as everyone settled into their seats after Grace.

Morgan grumbled even as Cory clapped his hands. "Do we have to?"

"Morgan Michelle," Eric snorted into his iced tea as Alan leveled his only daughter with a glare.

The blonde sipped her water, eyes rolling carefully. "Would you like me to go first?" She offered helpfully. "This year, I'm thankful-"

"There's a tradition," Alan cut her off with a tired sigh. He loved his children. That wasn't even a question. But everyone at the table could see that while he adored each and every one of them, he kind of wished he could kick them all out so he could go back to his quiet days. "Every year that we're together, the Matthews family goes around the table –youngest to oldest- and say at least one thing we're thankful for."

"You don't have to explain it," Amy announced quickly. "You don't even have to give us more than one word, but you have to find one thing in your life to share with the rest of us."

The entire table turned to Auggie, who was eyeing the rest of the table with hungry glee. "Youngest to oldest," Topanga said carefully, tapping him on the forehead.

"Dinner?" The youngest Matthews at the table said hopefully, reaching for a roll. "Can I be thankful to eat?" The entire table chuckled as his mother told him sternly to try again.

Maya leaned across Josh, planting one hand on his thigh to steady herself. "Family's always a good call," she stage-whispered

"Pay no attention to the blonde in my lap." Planting a hand on her shoulder, Josh gently forced Maya back into her own chair. "Just close your eyes, think of the last year, and tell us one thing you're glad you have." Nails dug into his thigh and Josh had to pretend that both of Maya's hands were in her own lap.

Auggie followed directions, glancing around the table first. "Yeah," he shook his head. "I'm still thinking about food." The table laughed. "And," the word was drug out several syllables. "I'm thankful for it," he threw a glance to his sister whose eyes widened. "Because there are those around the world that don't have as much as I do."

"Nice save." Morgan reached across the table to ruffle Auggie's hair. She nodded to Josh's right. "Maya?"

The blonde balked, arm shooting up to point at her best friend. "You're skipping one!" She shouted awkwardly.

"Two," Will corrected, as his hand raised slightly.

Maya didn't skip a beat. There was a fist pump as she shouted, "I'm not the baby!"

"You are, however, cut off." Josh traded glasses with her. When Maya's eyebrows rose, he laughed. "Maybe if you can stop shouting at the table I'll give it back."

Whatever Maya was about to say was drowned out by Riley's obnoxious 'ahem'. "I'm thankful for my family!" She announced over the din. "Those I share blood with, and those that I found all by myself."

"She says the same thing every year," Auggie informed his aunt and uncle with a groan.

"It's true every year," Riley announced sternly.

Topanga smiled at her children. "She says that every year, too."

"Sir William?" Shawn held his drink in salute to the newest addition to the table. "it would be your turn."

"I'm thankful that I've gotten the chance to spend time with a family so much different than my own." Riley threw both arms around his neck, planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "And I'm hoping that I get to witness more holidays like this one."

Josh's hand came up to cover Maya's lips before she could ruin Will's sentiment with one of her own.

She licked him –straight from wrist to knuckle, and really, he should have known it was coming- before sticking her tongue out at him for good measure. "it's kinda my turn, Boing." She threw out as if she hadn't just done either of those things. "And this year I am thankful," she paused, one elbow bracing itself on the table so she could cup her chin in her hand. "I am thankful for the unknown." Her eyes darkened carefully, and he knew for a fact that she overlooked him on purpose when they searched the table. "For chances that I didn't think I'd have and decisions that I've been forced to rethink."

"What kind of decisions?"

Maya cut Riley off with a glare. "Not now baby Cory."

"Brings us to _Boing_." Morgan had known about Maya's childhood nickname for Josh for as long as he's had it. But there was a new glint in her eye as she nodded for him to go. He wasn't sure he liked it.

Josh wanted to say that he was thankful for Maya. For the fact that one of the decisions she had reconsidered was letting him love her, which was something else that he was incredibly thankful for as well. And yes, he was thankful that he had made it through college, and for the job opportunity that kept him in the city that he had grown to love with the friends and family, he would always be thankful that he was given. But at this moment, with the blonde that had wormed her way into his heart drawing circles on his thigh with her pinky, Josh didn't feel guilty throwing them to the side.

"New beginnings." He threw out offhandedly.

From the head of the table, his mother's eyes softened. "You have accomplished a lot this year." She told him with a wistful smile. "And your father and I couldn't be prouder of you."

"The rest of us don't like you," Eric added with a sip of his drink. "We also don't like staring at food we can't eat. So if you're not going to explain?" He winked at Maya, stuck his tongue out at Cory when he tisked, turned to his own right to Morgan.

"I'm thankful for my family," Morgan said it while taking her husband's hand. After a cough from the other side of the table, she shifted to glance down at Maya and then leaned forward to catch Riley and Will. "Which seems to be growing every year."

"You shouldn't have said that." Shawn leveled his beer bottle at Amy, whose eyes had taken a wistful turn.

Cory cut off whatever their mother was gearing up to say by gesturing to the table. "I already gave you grandkids, Ma."

Eric dropped his head to his hands as Josh just shrugged. "I was wondering when the bus would show up."

Morgan just laughed. " _All I meant_ ," the blonde held up her glass and mock glowered her own way around the table. "Was that it's good to see this table getting bigger, and I cannot wait for more permanent fixtures around it."

He wasn't going to admit it, but Josh was completely oblivious to whatever it was that Tim was thankful for. Maya's fingers were dancing over his thigh again. She never glanced up at him, never took her eyes off of whoever was speaking at the time, but it was enough. Slowly he slipped his forearm from the table, scratching his knee before allowing the tablecloth to hide him taking her fingers in his own.

Topanga was thankful for the prosperity that the family had enjoyed, Cory health and happiness. Shawn boasted time slowing down for him. He wasn't on the road as much, and he finally got to enjoy the life that he had built for himself.

"I even brought you a grandkid, too!" He used the neck of his bottle bop Maya on the nose, both of them beaming at Amy.

"Pretty sure this ain't my first rodeo." Maya stole his drink, took a swig and then set it back on the table where it had started. Josh knew she wanted to reach for her own again. He just might actually let her have it.

Eric grabbed a roll, completely ignoring Amy's indignant sigh. "I'm leaning more toward food." He didn't take a bite of it. Choosing instead to turn it around between his hands. He didn't offer any more, sending his mother a toothy grin.

"I am thankful that I have all of my babies under my roof this holiday." Amy's arm gestured to the table, stopping at Shawn to her left so she could run her hand up and down his bicep. "And that all of you are such wonderful adults who try so hard and do so well."

Morgan and Eric shared a look, before dramatically shifting their eyes to their brothers. "We're supposed to be trying?" Eric leaned back in order to avoid his father's sweeping hand.

"And I am thankful that my young adults are following in their parent's footsteps." It was Will who was tapped this time, even though it seemed she was trying to reach past Shawn for Maya or Josh. "I meant it when I said it before. I am so very proud of you all."

"Is it just me, or does it sound like she's about to tell us she's dying?"

"Cornelius." Alan glared at his son. It probably would have been more effective if he wasn't trying to hide a grin as well.

Tim nodded to the other end of the table, where Amy sat with the second tray of turkey. "We're dying." He corrected. "She's poisoned dinner."

"I am thankful," Alan started loudly to cover the banter. "That we have never been given everything we desire because there would be nothing to look forward to." Maya's thumb jumped to Josh's wrist, and then she smiled up at him. "That times haven't always been easy because it teaches us to grow." It was Shawn's turn to smile, as he glanced down the table to Cory. "I'm thankful for limitations, because through those are opportunities to grow, and that we all make mistakes because that's how we learn." Riley dropped her head to Will's shoulder, and while Cory's eyes widened, he chose to keep his mouth shut. "For the days where I'm tired and weary because it means I've worked hard, and I've made a difference. And I'm thankful for all of you, my children, who keep me young."

Cory slapped his father on the back with the hand that wasn't holding his drink and nodded encouragingly. "Here, here."

There was a moment of silence, where the table seemed to be contemplating themselves and the instances that Alan's speech provoked. Then Josh watched Morgan sneak a roll for herself and he cocked an eyebrow at his father. "Surprise."

Alan's chuckle was drowned out by an enthusiastic Auggie shouting "let's eat", and that was that.

* * *

Whereas dinner was a sit-down, dignified affair, the second his mother brought out the pie –and made the mistake of handing Eric the first bowl of whipped cream- all hell broke loose. There was bartering for treats, and arguing over slice sizes. Auggie narrowly escaped an argument between Maya, Cory, and Morgan about bogarting the dessert wine with his life, and poor Will accidentally got Riley's cider down the front of his shirt because he startled her. It was a full-blown food fight waiting to happen, and he'd probably never been happier.

That didn't lessen the noise or Josh's desire for air.

He honestly hadn't realized how long he had been sitting on the picnic table in the backyard until the backdoor cracked and his sister appeared. He didn't watch her exit the house so much as notice the sheer amount of noise that came from having thirteen people in one small enclosed area. It was gone with a click, and Josh tilted his head slightly to catch Morgan's eyes.

"Let me guess," Josh nodded back to the kitchen window. "Someone discovered that there's still an entire apple-berry pie left?" Maya and Eric had damn near killed each other over what they had thought was the last slice earlier, both hilariously sluggish from having more than their fair share of turkey and beer.

Morgan just passed on her Mona Lisa smile. "I've been looking for you, baby brother."

She would have been suspicious on a bad day, downright comical on a good. But after being on edge for the last ninety-six hours because he had to watch almost every single word or gesture, Josh was just tired of it all.

He planned to make a joke about her being cryptic but was silenced by the look on her face when she stepped in front of him with her hands planted firmly behind her back.

Then came the head tilt.

"I've got a present for you."

It served as a poor warning for Morgan launching something at him, and Josh was more than thankful that he wasn't nearly as tired or drunk as he probably should have been. He'd been able to catch the object just before it hit him in the chest.

It was a box, almost the size of his palm, made of leather and very light wood. There was nothing spectacular about it; just a hinge on one side and a latch on the other.

"It's a box," he stated plainly.

And if it were any other moment, Josh supposed his sister might have smacked him. "Open it, smartass."

His smile was low, but Josh flicked at the old clasp before Morgan could do it for him.

And his world tilted again.

Josh had spent the bulk of his life seeing the rings nestled in their velvet pillow. Created back in the early 1930s, the exquisite rose gold band featured a subtle art deco floral motif with a variety of side accent diamonds. The focal point was a two-karat round cut natural moissanite –which he had been informed time and again had been one of the most expensive stones to come by at the time. It was extremely low profile, considering the size of the stone, and it nestled perfectly against the thin wedding band interspersed with .20 karat diamonds.

The last time he had seen this particular set with his own eyes had been five years before when his paternal grandmother passed away.

"That's a bit presuming," he threw out when he found his voice. It took all he had to resist the urge to slide his fingers over them. "I love you, Mo. Really, I do. But what would the family think?" There was a sigh in front of him, and Josh found he didn't have to force his smile anymore.

Morgan rolled her eyes, dropping herself to the top of the picnic table beside him. "Don't be an ass."

He considered the box in his hand for another moment. He had known that the rings had gone to Morgan. His father's sister had sent a card and an excuse from wherever it was she had ended up when the time came to pack up his grandmother's effects, and Amy didn't feel right keeping something that had been in the Matthews family for so long. If anyone had bothered to ask, seventeen-year-old Josh would have thought that it had been her intention to pass them to Cory so he and Topanga could give them to Riley's future husband when the time came. Never once did he consider that they would wind up in his possession.

Or the implication that now hung over him.

"I'm not gonna need these." Josh decided after a long minute. His heart clenched when he popped the lid shut and held the box out to Morgan.

"Now who's presuming?" The blonde flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and watched his lip quirk when Maya's laugh joined Riley's in the kitchen. He didn't make the mistake of moving his head in order to catch a glimpse of the flurry of blonde her messy braid had become. Not that it helped him any. "The last time any of us saw you this serious about _anything_ was when you were ten and announced that you were going to be an architect like Grandpa."

Josh wanted to tell her that it wasn't up to him. He and Maya had been seeing each other for just a little over a year now. And that was only if you were counting –like he was- from their first kiss that whirlwind Halloween. That didn't even take into consideration that he had only been allowed to refer to her as his girlfriend for a handful of weeks. Even if he had entertained the thought that there was a remote chance that Maya would consider marrying him, it was so far in the future that he didn't think he'd ever actually reach it.

But before he could open his mouth to get any of that out, Morgan leaned into him, her hand closing his fingers over the box in his palm. "It may not be today, or next year, or the year after that." Another giggle and Josh wondered if Morgan could see his heart constrict. "But sooner or later you are going to propose to that girl." She nodded to the house again, her meaning clear. "And when you do, it's gonna be with Grandma Bernie's ring."

He knew the second Morgan decided she had won. Her smile brightened and she turned to watch Maya launch a scoop of whipped cream across the kitchen at a wide-eyed Auggie.

"How long have you known it was Maya?"

"Mom can't keep a secret for shit." There was absolutely no accusation to be found in Morgan's voice.

"You and Ma talked about this?"

A quick head shake and Morgan sighed. "Dad." When Josh bit his lip, she laughed. "Mom has been watching the two of you like a hawk since the moment I got here." She shuffled her boots on the bench, smiling to herself. "I know she's always been a helicopter for you, but it was kind of getting ridiculous. I mentioned it to Dad and Cory and when big brother swallowed his tongue, Dad gave me the rundown. Although," Morgan took a quick breath, nudging his with her shoulder. "I'm not sure how anyone can spend fifteen minutes in the same room with both of you and _not_ notice."

Josh ran a hand over his face. "We're not _that_ obvious."

The look Morgan leveled at him almost had him retracting his statement. "She's spent the bulk of the last three days wearing your clothes." It was a point of fact, even if she didn't come out and say it. "You are never farther than arm's length from her if you can help it." Her hips shifted as a finger came up. "You volunteered to go running the day after Thanksgiving." When his mouth opened to protest, her forefinger hit his lips. "Dude! I've been trying to get you to come with me for _years_!"

He had a rebuttal at the ready. Since they'd arrived at his childhood home, Josh and Maya had made it a point to try to stay on opposite sides of the room from each other. There had been exceptions; Amy had placed them together at the table for almost every meal, and they had shared the love seat when watching a movie with Riley, Will, and Auggie. There was also a bit of time that afternoon when Maya was studying that they were closer than they should have been, but Josh could have sworn that no one had been paying attention. They'd paired up when going out with Riley and Will as well, but that had more to do with the fact that Riley was more or less attached to Will's hip, and he didn't want Maya to feel like she was being left behind or playing the third wheel.

Then it hit him.

Josh had to admit there were touches. A hand on a shoulder as Maya leaned over the back of the couch to argue with Cory about just how many times a person was allowed to see A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving in a seven-day period before their family could legally revoke their remote-control privileges. A simple grip of the hip as Josh is passing behind Maya pretty much every time he was in the position to do so. Maya's fingers on the back of his neck or ghosting over his wrist without thought or pretense. There were smiles over refills being provided before their needed, or Josh donating his jacket before asking if Maya had forgotten hers -in the car, on two different occasions, while doing a little pre-sale shopping with his family- but nothing that he hadn't been able to explain.

"You bought her coffee when we took Will to the mall." The sentence itself wasn't incriminating. If Josh remembered correctly, he had also gotten his mother one as well. "Without asking her if she wanted one or how she took it."

Okay, he could see how that would look a little suspicious.

"You also picked up the check for the sweater she bought, and don't think I didn't notice you handing her cash when she and Riley went on the Cinnabon run."

She'd forgotten her bag in Will's rush to procure appropriate clothing for dinner. But Josh couldn't mention that now. Hell, he didn't know if Riley knew that he funded their trip to Godiva or paid for the second round of coffee.

"Neither of you are capable of entering or leaving a room without looking at the other." It sounded like Morgan was reaching now, but seeing as though she had managed to guess correctly, Josh gave that one to her. "And I'll be damned if you aren't hyper-aware of exactly where she is at all times."

Maybe they weren't as inconspicuous as Josh thought they had been.

He tried to shrug, but Josh found himself stalling the motion. "And Shawn says that she's practically living at your place now."

"I knew we had a family of little old ladies," he had to laugh. Because if Josh didn't find his family's officious banter funny, it just might actually be incredibly sad. "But this is kind of ridiculous."

"The point is, baby brother." And the playful condescension was back. Morgan bumped her knees to his and dropped her chin to his shoulder. This was probably the only time she would have been able to without him stooping slightly. "I can see where this is heading, where you want it to go. And we all wanted you to know that as long as you're happy, we're happy."

Josh rolled Morgan's words over in his head for a few moments. "Are you trying to tell me that you guys had a family meeting about my love life?"

The door opened again without warning, and both Josh and Morgan turned to watch Maya slip through. She had abandoned the sweater she had worn to dinner, most likely because it had food all over it, and was now standing on the back deck in just her jeans and a camisole. Josh noted that she wasn't even wearing her boots.

Not that she seemed to feel the cold. Maya had the biggest smile on her face, a fork in one hand, and an entire apple-berry pie in the other.

"So, we're recompensing pie theft with hypothermia this evening?" Josh was on his feet in seconds, shrugging off his leather jacket and sliding it over her shoulders. Morgan's smile only got bigger when Maya relinquished the tin in order to slip her arms through the sleeves.

"Forty-two degrees isn't cold enough for hypothermia." Maya rolled her eyes without them leaving the tin. "And if I try to eat it in there, Amy'll make me share with your brother and Shawn."

And it was as if his sister ceased to exist. Maya tucked herself into Josh's shoulder and held up a piece of pie on the fork. "Are you thanking me for the jacket, or trying to buy my silence."

The fork was redirected and Maya chomped on the end of it. "Apparently neither."

"I didn't want any anyway." Josh dropped a kiss to her nose, shaking his head. "While you crazy people were threatening each other over cookies and food fighting over pie, I managed to hide chocolate mousse in the fridge in the garage."

Maya's eyes could have lit up the backyard. "You might regret telling me that."

"If you eat my mousse," Josh mock threatened, finger coming up to wave accusingly in her face. There was a giggle –Josh honestly couldn't tell if it came from in front of him or behind- and Maya tried gallantly to nod along with him with a straight face. "I don't have a threat at the moment, but I'll find a way to make you pay."

The blonde in his jacket saluted him with an empty fork. "No eating your pilfered desert," she agreed.

Behind him, Morgan fidgeted, and Josh took half a step back. "And I can still tell Ma you're the one that broke the casserole dish last year," he announced without turning to face her.

"Morgan."

The only thing stopping Maya from a full retreat was the fact that she was currently nestled in his arms, and he hand one hand tucked into the hip of her skinny jeans. The younger girl's eyes were wide and Josh watched her suddenly drop her gaze to herself as if that could somehow make her disappear.

The older blonde tried not to smile as Josh's hand shifted to the skin underneath her tank to rub circles on her lower back. "Take a breath, Gorgeous." He whispered as he dropped a kiss on the back of her head. She inhaled slowly, trying to calm herself, and he pressed his lips to the soft spot just behind her earlobe. "Morgan already knows."

The rigidity dropped from Maya's shoulders, but there were no other visible signs of lessening tension. Josh knew enough about Maya's stance to understand that it had probably just occurred to the blonde that they were still in full view of the window over the kitchen sink. Their current view in consisted of the back of Shawn's head as he braced himself on the island, munching on a handful of chocolate chip cookies while he carried on a conversation with someone to his left.

It was officially three times in just as many days that Maya had dropped her guard so much that she didn't remember the façade she'd so desperately begged for them to portray. Josh wondered what it would take to guarantee that she would come clean to Riley so she wouldn't have to spend another family holiday this way.

"Sorry," the hand holding the fork dropped back to the pie plate, and suddenly devouring the confection whole didn't seem like the best idea ever. Josh took hold of the tin long enough to slip it back to the picnic table and he could have sworn her lip quivered. "Sorry." This time her eyes locked with his and Josh knew what she thought she was apologizing for.

It was Morgan who waved her off. "Don't be," his sister smiled as she stepped out from behind her brother and using Maya's bright upcast eyes to cover the fact that she was sliding the ring box Josh had practically thrown at her into his jeans pocket. "I'd be embarrassed for my best friend to know I was dating Josh too."

The line was thrown out so quickly, so casually, that Josh had to remind himself that this was his sister actually trying to help. She'd known Maya just as long as he had, and the younger girl's insecurity radiated off of her in waves.

It had the desired effect though. Maya nodded reflexively, her hand coming up to pat Josh's chest. "I do have a certain image to maintain." She agreed quickly. "You might just be bad for my rep, Matthews."

Josh immediately decided that the best part about being a member of the Matthews' family was the nonverbal communication was considered just as important as what was said. So, when he smiled over at his sister, ducking his head in the pretense of kissing Maya's temple again, Morgan saw the blatant 'thank you' that he could risk mouthing.


	49. Interlude: We'll Be Okay

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 5,542

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

"I'm blaming Cory for this!"

There was a benefit to being an early riser.

In the Matthews' house, being one of the first ones awake meant that you got a jump on all of the family gossip. Amy was always the most distracted before her second cup of coffee, so she would mutter and rant about all of the misdeeds of his older siblings while she puttered around the kitchen serving breakfast and making sure both he and his father had lunches.

It was how he learned that Morgan had decided to give up fashion design to be a doctor –Amy swore it was a wonderful career choice even if she was certain that her baby girl did it because of some boy- and Eric had left New York City to run for the Mayor of St. Upidtown. It was also where she let it slip to his father that Topanga was pregnant again –she'd actually forgotten that he was in the room- and where she announced to the room that Cory saw far too much of his best friend in Riley's and that he had decided that the little girl was going to be enveloped in their family much the same way.

This particular morning, Josh got the privilege of watching his older brother whirl on his sister, coffee carafe gripped precariously in his hand. "Whatdya mean, 'blaming Cory'?" He snapped. "I did _nothin'_ to encourage _this_." He waved the pot around as he gestured to Josh's position at the kitchen table.

And in all actuality, had Josh not been present for the start of this conversation, he probably wouldn't understand why him sitting at the round table, drinking his own coffee and stealing bacon off of his father's plate, constituted a 'this'.

"Really?" Morgan was on her feet now, arms crossed. Her husband shook his head, flipping to the next page in the paper and moving her orange juice to the left to keep it from being sacrificed to gesticulation.

"Really!" Josh didn't have to be able to see Cory to know that he'd most likely just sloshed coffee around the pot.

He looked anyway if only to see the confusion on his brother's face when Cory attempted to mirror their sister, realized too late that he was still holding the carafe and therefore could not fold his arms, and dropped the pot back onto the trivet. From the other side of the table, Shawn just shook his head.

Josh noted that he didn't disagree.

"so, you didn't stand there," Morgan dropped one hand so she could gesture at the back wall of the kitchen. Tim cocked an eyebrow at his wife before Alan leaned over to point out that she was gesturing to the back patio. "And tell our sweet, impressionable, toddler-sized baby brother that he was going to find his soulmate one day?"

Cory sputtered for his next breath.

Shawn asked Alan to pass the jam.

And Josh wondered why exactly he had to be there for the next session of his family's deconstruction of his love life.

Morgan had assured him the night before that they hadn't had a family meeting without him to discuss him and Maya. The ring had been Eric's idea, and she had merely discussed it with Cory and their parents to make sure they were all in consensus so no one would think that he pilfered it.

That wasn't to mean that she and Cory weren't going to start one now. Even if Morgan had only been making fun of their older brother with her opening comment.

"I said ' _Topanga'_!" Cory snapped back. Josh took a moment to appreciate the fact that his sister-in-law chose that moment to descend the back staircase. "Josh brought home ' _Shawn'_!"

" _Riley_ brought home 'Shawn'." Topanga physically pointed out, jumping into the conversation as if defending her brother-in-law from the insanity that was her husband was just the natural order of things. "Josh just fell in love with her."

"Semantics!"

There was a thump overhead, and Josh tried not to imagine who could be listening in on them. Heaven help them all if it was his niece.

"Children!" Alan took his time folding the sports section and setting it down on the table beside him. It was almost comical, the way they all froze in deference to his authority. "At this point, you two are just ridiculous." His middle children nodded along carefully. "And if either one of you has managed to wake your mother up with this," his voice dropped off slowly as he glared pointedly. The plan may have been for most of them to head back to the city that evening, but that wouldn't stop Alan from getting creative with punishment.

The thud was on the steps now, and Josh added a second hope to his current wish list.

"Please tell me there's a logical explanation as to why you guys are shouting about Shawn and Topanga at seven-thirty in the morning?" Maya ran a hand through her hair lazily before actually surveying the room.

She had stolen another shirt.

And yes, it struck Josh as odd that _that_ was the first thing that crossed his mind upon the arrival of his other half. Especially amidst the discussion of his love life that was in progress. He'd gone up to bed before her the night before –she'd still managed to sneak up to get a few goodnight kisses in- but she'd been drowning in an Abigail Adams High hoodie, and he had no way of knowing one of his NYU tees was hidden beneath it. It was falling off one shoulder now, the neckline stretched almost to the point of breaking, but it was most definitely his.

Josh didn't hesitate to catch her legging-clad hip and yank her into his lap for a kiss. The second their lips parted, she stole his coffee. "They're not." He informed her, scooting his chair back so she wasn't pressed against the table.

The side-eye she shot him was almost comical, even as she smiled in thanks to Alan for handing her his plate of bacon. "I know you're getting old, Matthews. But last I checked, your hearing is intact." She didn't seem to notice that all eyes were on them now. Or if she had, she did an excellent impression of someone who didn't give a damn.

"I'm only three years older than you." He reminded her with a cheeky grin. "And Mo was just telling Cory that if he weren't such a good brother, you and I wouldn't be together."

"That is _not_ what I said!" It was Morgan's turn to give an indignant shout. Alan raised an eyebrow and she backed down immediately.

Tim nodded along. "That's a little bit of what you said."

There was a pause as Maya snapped a piece of bacon in half before wrinkling her nose in contemplation. "She's not wrong." She decided with a bite.

It was entirely possible Cory actually squeaked.

"Cómo?"

He couldn't explain it, even if anyone else could tell, but the wry smile that pulled at her lip reminded him of a time far too long ago. Of his first college gathering, and the very first time he watched Maya falter in front of him.

"If he hadn't made his home so welcoming to you, you wouldn't have spent so many weekends as a teenager driving for _hours_ to spend time with at his place." Another piece of bacon was chomped between her teeth and she shrugged. "And you certainly wouldn't have tried so damn hard to get into NYU; a place you wanted to be because it was where Cory and Topanga both got their post-grads." She wasn't even looking at the rest of the room now, turning so their eyes locked. "It's not like you needed his address for in-state tuition. You could have wound up at Notre Dame or Cornell," her nose wrinkled, "two places with better Architecture programs, might I add."

"It's adorable that you know that." Shawn spouted from the other side of the table.

Maya stuck out her tongue. "I may or may not have looked it up when I was borderline obsessed with Boing in middle school."

"You say that like they're two different people." Tim didn't even bother to look confused. He'd been a part of the Matthews insanity for almost five years now and was most likely the calmest of the bunch.

" _I'm_ two different people," Maya shrugged. "And I wasn't done." Alan chuckled, snapping his fingers so his middle son would pass the coffee even as he waved for her to continue. "You're also forgetting the fact that he promoted 'togetherness', and that he's just so damn Cory that he refused to let a kid spend time alone because her mom worked all the time." She pointed the carafe at Shawn as she topped off Alan's mug. "Which we could blame you for."

Morgan's eyes were lit with new possibility. "Because if Cory didn't have Shawn for a best friend, he wouldn't have seen the need to protect Maya."

Suddenly it was Shawn's turn to bluster. "So, now it's my fault?"

"It's a duet." Topanga reached for the second carafe of coffee, holding out an empty mug to Josh in favor of replacing the one that he was most likely not going to get back.

Josh nodded in time with another thump on the staircase.

The blonde in his lap leaned over for one more kiss before sliding into the empty chair to Josh's left. "Now that we've settled it," Maya reached for the bowl of cut fruit. "What the hell happened to my morning run?" She threw over to his sister. "I could have sworn we made a plan."

"That was before Morgan found the tequila." Shawn shook his head as the blonde in question blanched.

The blonde in the chair didn't even bat an eye. "So, you had a pretty good night then?" The question was thrown at Tim with a snort, and she tiled her head back to regard the stairs. "You can only have some of my coffee if you do not sit in my lap."

Josh wasn't the least bit surprised when Riley whimpered. "But there are no more chairs."

"Your uncle's lap is comfy." She suggested with a shrug.

"Then you sit in it." Riley's bottom lip dangled precariously. "I need caffeine."

His chair slid back another inch as Maya regained her previous perch, handing her coffee to the brunette still shuffling toward the table. Chin settled on his shoulder, Maya pivoted to the two still by the island. "Could either of you hand me a new mug?"

* * *

"I'm all for getting creative," Maya let the sentence hang, reaching into the front pocket of Josh's jeans for his phone. "This is neither the time nor the place."

Morgan snorted into her hot chocolate as Amy's eyes widened.

His mother had demanded more quality family time, which had immediately sprung into the girls pulling each other outside to play in the snow. It hadn't taken long until it was a full-fledged family snowball fight –which he's pretty sure Eric only won because Maya joined his side- and then hot drinks on the back patio once Alan and Cory had set up the small fire pit.

It was Josh's turn to chuckle when he realized that everyone had managed to couple up a bit. Maya too was curled up against his side. She might have had Auggie practically in her lap, and her feet draped across his eldest brother's, but she was still pressed against him.

"We've been debating storage solutions for the new classroom ideas." He thumbed his phone open and sighed when he realized that the buzz had been a series of rapid-fire texts from his former roommate, not a decision on whether or not they should streamline the design of the closet doors.

He flicked up to get to the message that started the barrage.

 **You wanna 'splain why there's a pic of you and Maya sharing a chair on R's IG?**

He'd noticed when Riley had taken the shot shortly after her caffeine had kicked in, laughing with Maya before he started complaining that her ass was too bony and that she either needed to stop wiggling or find a new place to sit.

To be honest, Josh hadn't given the image a second thought.

 **There were no chairs**. He sent back with a roll of his eyes.

"Storage solutions for classrooms?" Amy cupped her coffee mug with both hands and leaned forward a breath. "Which project is this again, honey?"

 **They talk yet?**

Josh shook his head as he sent back the negative.

He'd completely missed the question, and it wasn't until Maya's hand skimmed his thigh that he realized that everyone was looking at him.

"He's on SOM's team of consultants and architects that are working with New York County to design and implement zero energy schools." Maya's face was impassive as she dug her thumb into the joint near his knee.

Will set his mug down and turned a little more to them on the bench. "What exactly is a 'zero energy school'?"

Josh had to curb the smile that appeared when Maya muttered her disbelief that he's just _now_ asking that question. 'You've only been on this committee for _two_ effin' years'. "Energy consumption actually represents the second highest operational expense to schools each year." He blatantly ignored her groan. She'd heard this spiel before. "Zero energy schools are designed to use between sixty-five to eighty percent less energy than those conventionally constructed, and the remaining energy can actually be supplied by renewable energy sources." His mother beamed. Eric pantomimed a high five. Morgan pretended to swoon. "This means that the money that was going in to keeping the computers powered and the lights on can be reallocated to afterschool care, better lunch programs, and other student resources."

"Look at my baby." Alan was forced to let go of his wife as she leaned across the bench to wrap her arms around her youngest. "Helping to save the word."

Eric and Morgan shared a look. "I was actually _on_ the clean energy subcommittee." The eldest Matthews sighed.

His sister dropped her head back onto her husband's shoulder. "I save _actual_ lives."

"I just warp young minds." Cory didn't even look up.

The patio was silent for a moment before Alan kissed the top of his wife's head. "What time were you all headed back to the city?"

Maya's ears perked and she grinned. "And can I ride in the town car with Eric?"

"No can do, little lady." Josh's eldest brother dropped his feet from the outer rim of the fire pit, shaking his head sullenly. "Unfortunately, I'm headed to DC this evening. There are a few meetings I need to take before the holidays officially start for me."

The blonde mirrored his sullen expression for a total of five seconds. One fist in the air, her grin was instantaneous, "shotgun1"

"You may have to rethink that, baby girl." Morgan shifted back to the arm of the bench. "You've got two more going back than you had going up."

Josh hadn't been entirely sure if his sister had been joking about returning to the city for the weekend before flying home. It made sense, While Tim and Morgan had flown to Philly for weekends over the last few months, she had constantly been lamenting not being able to spend time with her siblings and their children. And she had ragged on all of them for hours when she found out that not a single person in New York had managed to get pictures of Josh's apartment.

"Dad drives a Highlander." It was Riley's turn to move, leaning toward her best friend. "We'll take Auggie, but we're not giving up the 'kiddie car'."

"That's," Will pulled his lip between his teeth and rested his chin on his girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure that's not how she meant that to sound." His fingers clamped over Riley's lips as she muttered 'I said what I said'.

Maya kissed the youngest Matthews on the top of the head and smiled. "For the record, you're in the back seat between them."

Auggie didn't hesitate to turn to face the blonde and wink.

"Good kid."

Topanga snorted into her mug. "I was thinking we could all grab a quick dinner out and then leave from there."

When Amy glanced over her shoulder to Cory, Shawn just shrugged. It seemed as good of a plan as any. "Now I have to be the mom and ask if everyone is packed?"

The fire crackled and everyone under the age of thirty shared an awkward glance.

They moved as one. Blankets were thrown aside, Auggie was launched ahead, and four young adults –plus Morgan and Eric- sprinted toward the back door.

"Stop!"

Again, they worked as a group, freezing in their tracks and turning as one toward Alan.

"There hasn't been a herd of elephants in my house in twenty years." He shook his head as his only daughter inched to the door while he was speaking. "There aren't going to be now." He caught the eyes of each of them in turn. "Understood?"

"Understood."

The group shuffled again, and Tim laughed when Auggie stumbled, causing the rest of the group to smack into him.

"What's up, baby Matthews?"

Small stature blocking the rest of his family to get closer to the door, Auggie pointed above where Josh and Maya seemed to be sharing the doorway, to the top of the casing. "When did that get there?"

"No!" Maya tried to jump backward without realizing that Josh was behind her, His fingers anchored to her hips, more to keep them both upright. Morgan's maniacal grin was all the confirmation that he needed to know that there would be a sprig of mistletoe over his head if he looked up. "No. No. No. No. No."

"Are we five?" Josh knew that despite the tone, his father would be absolutely no help. Alan most likely helped his sister plant it.

"We all have to pass through the door." Eric looked at those around him, as if trying to gage whom he would have to kiss in order to pass into the kitchen. "Get us started so we can pack."

Maya's eyes were bright as Josh laughed. "Once upon a time you would have jumped for this chance," he cracked a little too loudly. She seemed to come back to the situation just enough to frown apologetically.

Their faces were too close together when he bent to her, his tongue wetting her lips when he licked his own. It was honestly over before it began. A brush of lips that had to be the tamest of kisses they had shared in the last four days. He still felt it down to his toes.

Blue eyes blinked carefully,

Then Auggie was hopping up to them, pulling Josh's girlfriend down for a sloppy kiss to her cheek so he could walk up the back steps to the room he shared with his parents.

* * *

"The world didn't stop."

A vigorous game of rock, paper, scissors decided that Riley and Will were the third rows in Cory's Highlander –Auggie regulated to the middle seat with Shawn- while Morgan and Tim rode with Josh and Maya.

He had to admit, Josh hadn't been prepared for a somber Maya.

She had been anything but when they stopped at Chubby's for a final family meal before they'd hit the road. Maya had claimed both Riley and a booth before the rest had even picked a place to sit, both boisterous and jovial as they'd ordered, and oddly playful when the food had been delivered, throwing her fries at Cory when he pouted because Topanga reminded him that they gave him heartburn. She'd also made a show of Instagramming her dinner, tagging both Austin and Lucas because they should '#bejelly'.

The second they hit I-95, her entire demeanor changed. Pillow pulled underneath her knees, and feet in Josh's lap, she'd toyed with her phone for a handful of miles before choosing to stare out the window at passing traffic.

The closer they got to the city, the more the ball of tension that Maya carried with her ebbed.

Just inside the Holland Tunnel, she had startled him, flipping around so her head was braced against his shoulder and her feet were on the dash.

Her thumb ran along the edge of his watch and he brushed a kiss on the top of her head. "What was that?"

"The world didn't end."

Josh wasn't dumb enough to ask for clarification. There was really only one significant event in the last twelve hours that Maya would be referencing. "It did not." He agreed. The car surfaced on the other side of the channel, and Josh merged with city traffic. As much as he loved his car, he was actually looking forward to get back to the land of subways and taxi cabs. When Maya didn't speak up as to which route he should take, he tapped her knee. "You staying at Shawn's or Cory's tonight?"

"I told Riley I needed a little _less_ togetherness." Josh was glad that his focus was on the road, and hers was on his wrist. "Would you mind if I came home with you?"

He's pretty sure that Morgan's laugh coincided with the grin on his face. "Absolutely not, Gorgeous." He nudged her hair to the side so his next kiss landed behind her ear. "Just let me drop Mo and Tim off."

"Not necessary." Morgan leaned forward, no longer pretending that she was reading her ebook. "I think we'll stay with you tonight too."

And she didn't even ask. "I don't know what Ma's told you, Mo." Josh managed instead. "But it's a single, and my couch only sleeps one."

"We packed an air mattress." She had known it was coming, and she'd prepared. Josh only had his mother to blame. Or Cory. This could have been Cory's doing. "Unless you have a problem moving your couch back a few feet?"

"Why would I have a problem with that?" His focus was on traffic again,

"The world didn't end." Maya reminded him with a smile. Louder, she sighed. "The only things in his kitchen are coffee, creamer and yogurt." Neither one of them had to turn around to know Morgan's grin only got wider. "So, we'll have to do breakfast out in the morning."

Tim picked that particular moment to join in. "I'm sure Cory wouldn't mind if we wound up there."

Unlike the riders in the car accompanying them, that Josh would note was at least twenty minutes behind them, his vehicle's trip ended just 5 minutes after leaving the tunnel. He pulled up to the curb, throwing it into park so he could help everyone retrieve the luggage.

"Can you let them in?" Maya already had his pillow clutched into the hand not holding her own bags. "I don't want to leave this on the street tonight."

"Now I'm supposed to admit I have a key?"

Tim chuckled as Morgan let out an exasperated, "I think the cat climbed out of that bag three days ago." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and readjusted her laptop bag. "Wearing Josh's clothes."

"Speaking of, just throw all the clothes into the hamper," Josh ignored his sister, dropping the hatch on the trunk. "I'm just going to send them all out with the dry cleaning." He gave her a quick kiss as he stepped into the street.

Maya dug her keys out of her tote, blowing her hair out of her eyes as she moved to the door to the building. "Only reason I date him." She threw out in a nonchalant huff.

When he made it back to the apartment, Maya had already done the rearranging. His couch was now against the far wall, and his coffee table had been rolled up against his kitchen island. She had also inflated the mattress and pulled the spare sheets and pillows from the top of the closet in his bedroom. The laundry had made it into the dry clean hamper –he'd actually been amazed she didn't fight him on that one- and his chargers had been plugged back in on his bedside table. Maya was curled up on the chaise lounge in jeans and a tank, Tim was checking his messages, and Morgan was nowhere to be found.

"Bathroom," Maya pointed down the very short hallway with her foot.

Since his niece was roughly fifteen miles away, Josh didn't hesitate to reach down and lift her from her perch, claiming the lounger and pulling her firmly into his lap. "You guys pick a movie or something?"

"Morgan needed a shower." Maya shifted slightly, more to make sure that her hip wasn't digging into his thigh, and dropped her head to his chest. "And I just barely made it past making sure they had a bed to sleep in."

"She was a wonderful hostess." Tim set his phone down on the coffee table and sat on the arm of the couch.

Dropping a kiss to the top of her head, Josh just laughed. "Yeah, well she's the one that decorated this place." Maya pretended to look offended for a second and a half before nodding. "She probably knows it better than I do."

Whatever comment Tim had, he kept it to himself. He glanced in the direction of the bathroom, before nodding. "I was actually wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me with something, Josh."

"If I can." Josh watched Tim watch the bathroom door.

"She didn't want to tell anyone until it was final," Tim was still staring at the bathroom door, hyper-aware of the sound of the shower. "But Morgan has been offered a fellowship at John Hopkins Children's Center." He didn't pause. "I've got some feelers out so I can move out with her –hell, I wouldn't mind becoming a house-husband for a while if it means she gets to work at her dream hospital- and I wanted to start thinking long term."

There was a lot to be said to the fact that his brother-in-law was willing to put his own life on hold just so Morgan could do what she's wanted to for so long. However, nothing Tim had said was any kind of lead up to what kind of favor Tim wanted. "Congratulations Morgan," he started carefully. "I'm not sure what kind of help I can give."

The older man nodded again. "We have been talking about actually settling down." He threw out. "I've found a great plot of land, it's about an acre and a quarter, and it's only an hour away in heavy traffic -max- from the hospital." Suddenly some things were starting to make more sense. "Mo's got an entire Pinterest board dedicated to farm and ranch-style houses." Before Josh could take his next breath, Tim leaned forward. "I know that your focus was on Environmental Policy and Urban Planning, but I was hoping that somewhere along the way you took some good old-fashioned architectural design courses and could help me build her dream house."

"I ain't building nothin'." Josh shook his head emphatically. He'd had all of three engineering courses because they were requirements. There was no way in hell he was about to try something practical. "I will, however, stalk her Pinterest and see if I can't draft a few ideas out for you."

Relief washed over his brother-in-law's face. "You are my favorite Matthews." He leaned forward, and Josh was almost afraid he would have to explain to his sister why her husband was on his knees in Josh's living room.

"Don't spread that around." Josh eyed the tiny hallway as the shower turned off. "She just might off me."

"I think you're her favorite too." Tim let slip with a wide grin.

"That's Dad," Josh argued.

Behind a disapproving tisking noise, Tim's smile held. "When Cory let it slip that you'd been seeing-" His eyes wandered to where Maya had dosed off, nose against his sweatshirt. "Alan had to pretend he'd forgotten something at the store so he could get her out of there before her squeal hipped the entire house to the situation."

That certainly explained why his mother needed two brand new gallons of milk the day before Thanksgiving. It had nothing to do with making sure she didn't run out.

"And then after she-"

Maya stirred, readjusting her knee so her feet stretched across the armrest and she could center herself fully across his chest. Tim might of thought there was a possibility of her being conscious, but her hand was twitching. If she had been conscious enough to understand what she was listening in on, she would be perfectly still.

He still got a kick out of the fact that she was oblivious to that particular tell.

"There was no tequila, was there?"

Tim considered the room for a moment.

"It was rum." Why had neither of them noticed that Morgan had made it out of the bathroom? "And I shared it with Cory and Shawn while I marveled that you had actually lost your heart."

Josh rolled his eyes. "I thought you'd been watching us."

His sister mimicked the action. "I'd been watching _you_." She slid onto the couch beside her husband. "Last night was the first time I got to see her with her guard down." Her smile saddened. "The sooner she tells Riley, the better it'll be."

"Stay out of it, Mo." Josh snapped back. His hand ran down the outside of Maya's thigh.

"Josh-"

"Seriously," Maya shifted again, and Josh forced even breaths. "Leave it."

"Leave what?" Maya nosed his chin as she sat up blinking.

He kissed her forehead, pulling her closer now that he didn't have to worry about waking her. "Sibling stuff." Thankfully she was too tired to realize that he'd just lied to her. "You gonna head to bed on your own, or am I gonna have to carry you there?"

Maya's brow quirked and she gave him a slow smile. "If you're offering…"

"If I carry you to bed, you have to get out of it to get your own coffee in the morning.

Her sigh announced that he was an evil man, but she slid off of his lap all the same. "I've got spin at ten-thirty." She reminded him when she leaned down to properly kiss him good night. "Don't be too long."

"I won't." He whispered against her lips. "You're not the only one who missed having someone next to you."

"I shared a queen-sized bed with Riley this week." Maya rolled her eyes and he wondered if she realized he'd heard her mutter 'sap' under her breath. "You were the only one that slept alone."

Josh tried to resist rising to the bait. Tried. Failed. "There's still time for me to drive you to Cor's if it really doesn't matter who you cuddle up to tonight." His eyes met her wide ones, and if he didn't think she would physically jump him, he would have headed to the counter to grab his keys.

"Joshua Gabriel," Maya muttered between gritted teeth. Tonight would not be the night she called his bluff.

He caught the back of her neck with his hand, pulling her back down to him. "I love you." He transitioned to a kiss, his tongue sweeping past her lips. "I'll be in in a bit." As she stepped away, he caught the glint in her eyes. "You can have my shirt, or my pillows. You don't get both."

The whole room caught her calling him a spoil sport as she nodded good night to Morgan and Tim on her way to the bedroom.

"I can drive you to Cory's too," Josh threw out without looking up at his sister. "It's not up for discussion."

Morgan just nodded. "He was wrong before." When Josh finally caught her eye, she nodded toward the photo that Topanga has begged a random passerby to take during Christmas last year when things were still so new between him and Maya. "Cory." She added before he could ask which 'he' in that photo she was referring to. "She's not your _Shawn._ "

"No, she's not." He agreed.

Another decisive nod and Morgan shifted to make sure Maya closed the door to the bedroom. "I just hope you hid that ring _really_ well."

* * *

Just in case you're curious, the next chapter _might_ be the one everyone is waiting for (in one way or another). Let me know what your favorite part of the series is so far if you want it before Christmas.


	50. Part XXVII: Downside of Growing Up

Title: Sooner or Later  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 10,816

Warnings/Spoilers: The kids have finished their first year of college. Josh has graduated and entered the "real world". Cory still lives in denial

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.

* * *

This has not been beta'd. You've been warned.

* * *

For the first time in almost fifteen years, Maya didn't wake up to the sound of carols on Christmas Day. There was no Riley to bounce on her, no active plot to forcefully pull Cory from his slumber, and absolutely no reason not to burrow back into the covers for a few more moments of sleep.

But no matter how hard she tried, Maya couldn't deny something felt off.

"I know you're awake." The voice wasn't next to her, which was where she expected it to be. Her body flopped back into his space on the bed with an exhale. She cracked one eye open and blinked a few times to clear the sleep.

Her boyfriend was leaning against the doorjamb, yet again fully dressed.

"Just how late are we?" She asked as her eye slid shut again.

Josh's smile came with a steaming cup of coffee. "We're actually not." Her vision of him was blocked by her favorite mug.

He waited until she finally removed the mug from her lips before speaking again. "Believe it or not, it's not even seven yet."

"Liar." She mock squealed, setting the mug on the nightstand beside her.

"You've got about half an hour before you absolutely have to be out of the house."

Her eyes lit up as she leaned toward him. "Half an hour, you say?"

Her boyfriend has no poker face. It was a fact of life, albeit one she knew he hated. His grin was firmly in place when he ducked his head to brush their lips together. "No.' He reversed to the foot of the bed. If she got her arms around him, there was no way either of them would be on time. "You need a shower."

Josh's aim was for stern, Maya's responding giggle told him he missed. "We could shower together." She sang sweetly, pushing the comforter off of herself. It was going to be another day of close contact with his entire family –and her mother- and she knew moments like this were going to be few and far between.

 _You know how to solve this_ , a voice dangerously close to her best friends informed her sternly in her head. _You did promise him_ three months _ago that you_ _'_ _d take care of it._

Maya shook that thought out of her head as Josh physically pointed to himself. "I've already had mine." He informed her carefully. To be honest, Maya had no idea where the second mug had come from, or how long he'd been holding it.

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Maya changed tactics, finally climbing out of the bed and sidling up to him.

The mug was dropped to the table at the foot of the bed even as his other hand was reaching for her. For someone so intent that they stick to the script this morning, Josh was extremely pliable. She didn't even have to use his shoulders for leverage, his hands gripping her rear and pulling her to him. They wound up against the bookshelf next to the door, Josh's body firmly pinning hers to the wood as his lips ravaged hers.

Her mind blissfully emptied as she buried her hands in his hair.

When he pulled away from her, she didn't even try to stop the whimper. "You're officially running five minutes behind." Another sweeter kiss and Josh set her firmly on the floor. "I promised Mo that I would come to the hotel and help her transport last minute presents. So, you have plenty of time to think about that while you shower."

Josh's back was to her before she could think of a retort. He got all the way to the kitchen island, and his keys were in hand before she realized that his normal leave-taking routine hadn't occurred.

"Hey!" Standing in the middle of the doorway to their bedroom in one of his t-shirts and little else, Maya knew exactly what she looked like. It was made more apparent when his eyes softened just by glancing up at her face. "I-" Sound became incredibly difficult for her throat. Maya's pretty sure that her lips formed the second word before she scrunched her face together. "Josh."

It took four strides before he was in front of her again, and now his eyes were as soft as hers. "Maya." His tone mimicked hers completely. When all she could come up with was a few vague sounds and a quick lick of the lips, he brushed his to her forehead. "I love you."

Her brain finally taking over, Maya pressed her lips against the column of his throat. "I know." She whispered back because those two words were easier than the three she tried to say.

"Now get in the shower." He bopped her nose with his thumb as he stepped back again.

The front door shut with a click, and –being the responsible New York transplant that he was- Josh made sure to lock it from the outside. She wanted to make fun of him for it, but they both know he did it more for her than him.

The trip to the bathroom took barely eight steps, and she purposefully missed the hamper when she tossed her shirt across the room. Normally she was just a bad as he was about making sure everything was put away; her art supplies notwithstanding. This morning she needed that one little act of rebellion. And it wasn't as if they were going to be bringing Riley over later.

Her hand paused halfway to the temperature control.

Riley hadn't been to Josh's once in since she returned home from school this break. It had been discussed, and both Josh and Maya had considered it. It just wasn't going to happen. Maya had all but moved out of Shawn's completely since Thanksgiving. Everything from her full standing easel to the art that used to hang on her walls had migrated the three blocks. Maya would love to say that it was a subtle progression. _Would like to say_ , she repeated in her mind. There was nothing subtle about Josh taking a full day off of work while she attended back to back study sessions for her finals to move her French dressing table and the rest of her closet.

 _Yeah_ , the little voice in her head was back, and it was bad enough she would have to face her best friend later. She slid into the shower, moving Josh's shampoo to the higher shelf so she could get to her own toiletries without dropping anything on herself and laughed. _You might as well just admit it._

* * *

"Merry Christmas!"

Maya didn't bother to knock as she let herself into the Matthews' townhouse. She was officially half an hour late –and she had the frantic texts from her best friend to prove it- so she was greeted by a broken chorus of replies from the family scattered around the lower floor. Amy was in the kitchen with Topanga, Auggie and Tim chowing down on what appeared to be Belgian waffles. Cory and Shawn were spread across the recliner and couch respectively, with her mother perched on the arm closest to Shawn's head. Her best friend was in the bay window with her aunt, giggling over something on the brunette's phone. Josh was nowhere to be found. His father was also missing.

The second Riley realized that it was Maya who'd slammed the door, she leaped to her feet, throwing herself across the room. "Merry Christmas, Peaches!"

She barely managed to keep herself on her feet with the taller girl hanging off of her, but that was half of the fun. Two steps to her left and Maya flung Riley and herself over the back of the couch. Both girls landed unceremoniously on Shawn's feet, almost taking Katy with them when they rolled onto the floor.

"Merry Christmas. Pumpkin."

Footsteps on the stairs and Maya could feel the moment Josh wandered into the room. "You're late." He said with a smile

Riley's brow quirked at the greeting, and Maya's eyes narrowed. "Merry Christmas to you too." She growled pointedly.

"Merry Christmas, Gorgeous." Shawn was still trying to figure out how to sit up on the couch without stepping on anyone as Josh lifted Riley off of his girlfriend. "You're still late."

"Do you know how hard it is to get a taxi on Christmas Day?" She stepped into him when she was on her feet again, calming immediately at the smell of his aftershave. "And someone made me promise that I wouldn't take the subway."

"Pretty sure that someone only cares about your safety." If he could have told her that he loved her at that moment, Maya was pretty sure he would have. It was, after all, how Josh preferred to end their disagreements.

He leaned in, to say what Maya wasn't sure, and just before they got what she would have chastised him for as being too close, Auggie bounced between them. "Present time!"

"Riley made us promise to wait for you," Shawn explained as Topanga commanded that he and Josh shifted the couch so it faced the tree.

"And you were late," Josh whispered again as he moved to comply with his sister-in-law's wishes.

She was towed to the rug positioned in front of the tree and pushed down onto the oversized throw pillows that Riley had undoubtedly liberated from the guest room. Her eyes caught Josh's as he dropped himself down next to his sister in the bay window and she nodded. "There's room for you down here." Although she probably should have, Maya didn't raise her voice.

Josh just shook his head. "I'm good."

Riley bounced from person to person, playing Santa and delivering presents. Maya's smile waned, turning back to her boyfriend. "Josh." He too glanced over to where Riley was dropping a kiss on her grandfather's cheek. He didn't have to voice his opinion; the hesitation was written all over his face. Blue eyes snapped to hers again. "Please?"

He was off the window seat in a minute, bouncing on the balls of his feet before settling on the pillow directly behind hers. She wanted to lean into him. At that very moment, Maya wanted nothing more than to have Josh's arms wrapped around her. But Riley was back, handing her a box that she was willing to bet would be the Sandringham fit cashmere trench coat that she had begged Shawn for. And due to the previously discussed rules of behavior outside of their apartment, that just wasn't allowed.

Josh leaned into her back just enough to accept a present from his niece. When Riley turned back to the tree, he breathed in her shampoo. "I love you."

She didn't open her mouth. Mostly because she wasn't sure what exactly would come out this time. Dropping her chin to her chest, she took a deep breath. "Today," she said to no one in particular. Josh's hand brushed her hip and she swallowed hard. "Today."

Presents apparently sorted –Maya hadn't even noticed how not small her own pile was- Riley flopped down onto the pillow opposite her and Josh and sighed contentedly. "I love Christmas."

"Who goes first this year?"

It had been a tradition for as long as Maya had Christmased with the Matthews that they would Round Robin presents. It generally started with Auggie, since he was the least patient out of the group, then to Riley –since she was the next youngest- and so forth.

Topanga passed a smallish box from one hand to the other as she looked across her living room. "We were actually considering skipping that this year."

Riley had the wrapping paper off of one of her presents before her mother could finish speaking. She held in her squeal, though, looking back up from her makeup bag set when she realized no one else had moved. "Was there a consensus?" She asked sheepishly.

She wouldn't be able to explain the wetness in her eyes as she tilted herself into her friend. "Don't ever change, Riles." Maya sighed.

"Every man for himself." Alan took over the situation since Topanga seemed intent on staring at the girls, and the flurry of paper began.

Almost every single Matthews' family holiday that Maya had ever been privy to could be described as organized chaos. She glanced around the room after her first present had been unwrapped -thank you, Shawn, for the new jacket- and realized that this time around someone had forgotten the 'organized' part of the equation. Presents were beginning to be strewn everywhere -sorting that would be a bitch- and she was pretty sure that it was Eric that was launching wrapping paper balls across the room at everyone.

"If I could have everyone's attention please!" Tim had stepped up to the landing in front of the bay window, present in hand.

It was definitely Eric who beamed him in the back of the head with Snoopy Christmas paper while shouting, "Down in front!"

Tim turned slightly, pegging Eric in the forehead with his own little ball and announcing a 'Shaddup!' of his very own. Josh clapped, and Maya couldn't help but hoot along with him. She always viewed Josh's brother-in-law as a separate entity than the rest of the family, but he definitely belonged.

"You have our attention." Amy rested her head on her husband's shoulder, motioning the silence of the room.

"My wife is going to kill me for announcing this." Morgan was on her feet in seconds, launching herself onto his back. The height difference made her attempt underwhelming unsuccessful, and Tim almost dropped his gift trying to make sure she landed softly on Josh's lap. There was a whispered argument that included the word 'traitor' as Josh wrapped his arms around his sister in order to keep her still. "But she has been offered -and accepted- a fellowship at John Hopkins Children's Center."

The room erupted with cheers and congratulations, and Morgan buried her face in her brother's shoulder. Riley and Maya shared a look before they launched themselves, the darker haired girl squealing. Maya had to give Josh credit, he managed to keep all three of them upright without harming either them or himself.

"As part of my congratulations, I had a little something made for you."

The older blonde was on her feet again, latching onto her husband's arm in an effort to keep herself calm. She accepted the tubular present, wrapped in what Maya had originally thought to be extremely obnoxious Doc McStuffin's wrapping paper. Looking at it now, she thought it was kind of sweet.

"By had," Maya nudged Riley across Josh's lap, nodding to the man they were both more or less laying in. "He means he begged Josh for help."

"I was pretty sure you were asleep when we had that conversation," Josh whispered back. He realized a tad too late that he hadn't leaned far enough forward. Riley's eyes darkened as she glanced between the two of them.

 _Today_ , Maya reminded herself, not allowing her best friend's curiosity to get the better of her. "My pillow kept moving," She threw back carefully. It took a moment for Josh's memory to come back to him, and the image of her curled up in his lap with her head on his chest was most likely responsible for the fondness in his smirk.

"You really should see about getting a new one."

Riley shifted on the pillow on Josh's other side as Maya propped herself up on his knee. "You're going to love this." She informed Riley, pointing to the action again.

They'd missed Morgan doing away with the paper. The annoying Matthews trait of carefully pulling the wrapping by pulling on tapped spots thankfully ended with Cory. Eric had the wad in his hand, tossing it back and forth as he carefully considered his next victim. The blonde center stage was now playing with an expandable document tube, the lid screwed on tight and the band that would keep it from getting lost strumming under her fingertips. Maya could see the crimson 'M' on the cap that delineated that it was one that Josh had around the house. The marking more to keep her from grabbing the wrong one in the morning than anything else.

"If anything pops out of here, I will beat you with it." Morgan attempted to threaten, her voice shaking.

Tim dropped a kiss to his wife's temple. "No jump scares," he promised.

With a flick of her wrist, the tube was opened, and she tilted it to the side just enough for the thick roll of papers to slip to the edge.

"The hell?" It was entirely possible that Morgan didn't realize that she'd spoken out loud, gently grasping the papers and allowing her husband to help her pull them free from their confines. Maya could feel the anxiety slipping off of her boyfriend. Josh had played with the sketches every chance he got, combing over his sister's Pinterest feed and texting with Tim at all hours. She ran her hand up and down his thigh as Morgan managed to get the packet unraveled. "Oh my God." She looked to her husband first, and then over the top of the papers to Josh. "What did you do?"

"You've always said that you wanted a house," Tim started. "Somewhere closer to home where we could start a family." It was a good thing that Tim was holding onto the roll too, or it would have wound up in Josh's lap when Morgan released it to wipe her eyes. "So, when the offer came in, I had a buddy of mine in DC start to help me look for some land, so I could help make that dream come true too." She was openly crying now, one arm wrapped around herself and the other trying to staunch the flow of tears. "The blueprint was all Josh, though. I thought it best to leave that part to the professional."

Suddenly Morgan was snapping at her brother, the words 'stand up' not quite making it past her lips. The second Josh was on his feet, Morgan leaped at him, burying her face into his chest. The blueprint was taken from her husband, Shawn making it to the center of the room, and Morgan reached out a hand to pull him into the hug as well.

"Just when I thought I could win 'sappiest present' this year." Maya unearthed a palm-sized box that Josh hadn't managed to get to yet, rolling her eyes at her pseudo-father.

Shawn shrugged, passing the tube across the couch to Alan so it could be set out of the way of possibly being trampled. "There's always next year." He tried hopefully, ruffling her hair on the way back to his seat.

Morgan had released her men and moved to the couch to squish between her parents, accepting hugs and congratulations for what was essentially a promotion while the rest of the room quietly settled back into their presents.

She had no idea if it was coincidence or not that Josh didn't discover the same small box until after Riley had moved closer to the tree to play with the robotics set that Auggie had received. She actually hadn't been paying him the least bit of attention, concentrated on Topanga and her mother and a discussion about a ladies' spa day before Morgan and Amy went back to their respective cities.

"Surely you know what a kiss is." He whispered into her shoulder as he scooted closer to the conversation. Josh's hand migrated into her own pile of remaining presents.

She'd bought him the thimble keychain on impulse when she and Riley had gone flea market hopping the Saturday before. They had been to see Finding Neverland before Riley had returned from college and Amy and Alan descended –Josh had insisted it was to celebrate their first date, but Maya was still far too skeptical for that- and she had been humming songs from it ever since. It was ridiculous, the silver sewing device barely an inch long, and she'd popped link that had attached a sappy quote off before she'd wrapped it.

"I shall know once you give it to me." She quoted back, laughing when his hand slid around her hip to drop a smallish box in her lap.

Maya couldn't squelch the giggle as she popped the tape and flipped the lid. She had already gotten a present from him the night before after they'd made it home from the normal Christmas Eve shenanigans. He had stolen her laptop for an upgrade and replaced the brushes that she'd been muttering about for the last few weeks. Her gifts had been a bit less on the practical side, no matter what they had agreed, and she had presented him with a framed sketch of two people curled up in bed and the watch that he hadn't been able to justify getting for himself.

"Now," Josh murmured into her ear as she pulled the batting away. "Shall I give you a kiss?"

She should have known it was coming. The set up was a bit too perfect, and his delivery was too full of smiles. Instead, she gasped as a silver and amber acorn button attached to a chain lay nestled against the bottom layer of batting.

"How did you know?" She asked carefully, twirling the acorn and its chain around her fingers.

"I don't know if you know this," Josh kept one eye on Riley, to make sure that she couldn't see him skim her shoulder with his lips. "But you've got a shitty poker face."

She turned to him, their nose almost brushing. "Only with you," she smirked.

There was absolutely no doubt in his eyes as he rose carefully, making sure to brush her nose with his. "I love you."

Riley's head turned, and Maya pulled back just a touch. "Merry Christmas, Matthews." She placed the flat of her palm against Josh's cheek and scrunched her nose. She pulled away, frowning to herself. Her best friend's eyes followed her as she turned back to their mothers. "How long until dinner?" No matter how hard she tried, Maya couldn't bring herself to smile.

"Ham'll be ready in about two hours." Topanga checked her watch and smiled.

 _That should be plenty of time_. Maya told herself. _Although it may make dinner a little harder._

Josh's eyes followed her as she pulled herself from the floor, slipping her new necklace over her head and turning to the tree. "Hey, Riles?" She scrubbed her hand over her face and forced a smile. "You feel like taking a walk?"

The brunette nodded dutifully, running her hand over her brother's head before bopping up to grab her jacket.

"You got this?"

He wished he could be there with her. Hell, he wished he could do it for her. Maya watched as Josh's eyes helplessly filled with everything he wished he could give her at that moment to make what she was about to do as painless as possible.

But even if he offered, Maya wouldn't take it. Josh had already done too much for her.

But Riley was her best friend.

And as much as much as Maya hated it, this was her mess. It was time she finally dealt with it.

"No." At least she was a realist here. There were probably harder things to do. "But let's see how it goes anyway." He forwent the kiss on the lips for a quick press to her temple as he readjusted her jacket.

And then she was out the door.

* * *

She didn't speak the entire trip up LaGuardia. That wasn't to say the trip was silent, With Riley rattling off plans for the evening and things that she wanted to get done before the New Year's Eve extravaganza with the Minkus Clan, this year a 'Fire and Ice' theme at the Capitale with a view of the Hudson River fireworks after midnight. They'd been gown shopping with Isadora a few times, the genius taking the event seriously since this would be the first formal event she attended officially as Farkle's fiancé. Riley and Isadora would both be sporting the Minkus signature silver, the genius in a gorgeous vintage off the shoulder Hobeika intricately embellished with sequins and swathes of tulle while Riley opted for an empire-waisted off the shoulder gown with vintage floral lace embroidery and wrap.

Maya had made sure to send Josh's tux to the dry cleaners a few days ago, even though she had yet to pick her own gown.

They were skipping past Goddard Hall as Maya realized that she probably should have found more time to go shopping with Riley. She'd probably be picking her gown out by herself if this conversation went the way she thought it would.

The second the Washington Square Arch was in sight, Riley switched to the movie night that was set to occur that evening at Will's, adding August Rush to the mix.

"But you wanted to talk," Riley winded down, spinning in a circle in the sun, arms open.

Maya nodded slowly. "I did." Every single argument she had ever made about why this was a bad idea flitted through her brain. "I do." They wandered past the arch to the fountain and she cut her eye to the stone benches. "You're gonna want to sit down."

Riley's eyes went wide as she moved to follow the direction. "Maya?" Her voice had softened, shrinking and Maya pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, "Now you're scaring me."

 _You could have skipped this_ , the little voice warned her. _Josh would have let you ignore it for one more holiday._

"There's," she forced her next breath from between clenched teeth. The voice had to be silenced. Hiding all of this had gone on far too long. It was a miracle that they hadn't been caught as it was. "There's something you and I need to talk about." Another deep breath and Maya brushed moisture from the soft spot below her eyes with her pinky fingers. The door had been opened, at last, now she simply had to step through it.

"Whatever it is, Maya." Riley bounced on the bench, reaching for the blonde. "We can handle it."

Her best friend didn't know it, but she was only making this harder.

"You see," Maya pulled a swath of hair over her shoulder, fingers picking at the ends. "You say that." Another shaky breath and she dropped her eyes to the concrete below them. "And then three sentences in its Junior Year all over again."

Riley's memory was better than hers. They both knew it. But Maya watched the confusion flicker as the brunette tried to follow their history. "Junior year?" Without more context, she wasn't going to be able to make the leap on her own. "What are you talking about?"

Her mouth opened. No matter what Maya did, she couldn't do more than that. Any sentence she started didn't make it past the first syllable. Maya cursed herself when she stuttered the word 'I' for the fourth time. "Just spit it out." She growled, her entire face screwing together as she forced a breath. Riley was patient, but it only went so far.

One breath. Then another.

Then, "I saw Josh."

That wasn't right. Maya took comfort in the fact that it was at least a full sentence.

"We _all_ saw Josh, honey." Riley's laugh seemed to glitter in the snow. It was a blessing and a curse that Maya's meaning slid right over her head. "He's spent most of our break hanging out with us."

"That came out wrong." And now she wished that she could have practiced this conversation. Backpedaling would only get her so far. "I've _been_ seeing Josh." When Riley's face stayed the same, Maya's eyes slammed shut. "And that's not the right way to put it either." Why was she stumbling so much? It was always Riley that had trouble putting sentences together. The girl could make an entire emotional conversation out of sniffles and whines, and it was usually up to Maya to interpret.

Maybe she should have asked Josh to handle this one.

 _That_ thought died as soon as it sprung to mind. She'd already asked too much of him.

"You've been seeing my uncle?" the brunette repeated carefully, realization dawning. "Define 'seeing'."

 _Spending time with each other_ , her brain supplied when she couldn't make her lips work. _Going on dates, helping each other with projects, cohabitating, having sex._

The last word must have been said out loud because suddenly Riley's features were drawn into themselves. "You're sleeping with my uncle?" Maya officially hated those last two words. He'd been 'Josh' for so long with the two of them that there were times that she would almost forget his relation to her best friend. And now, it seemed, that Riley was clinging to that distinction. "I thought you didn't do that anymore, Maya"

 _That_ ; another word that needed to die a slow and painful death. She was going to call a moratorium on all four-letter pronouns when all is said and done.

And suddenly she was on the defensive. "It's not like that," she tried.

But Riley was having none of it. "Really?" She'd moved back by about a foot, making sure there was enough room between the two of them for all the disapproving glares that Riley could muster. "What's it like, then?"

Maya stuttered. She knew what she should say. Three words that would buy her enough time to compose the rest of her answer. It was a shame that her tongue was no more capable of producing those sounds at that moment than they were earlier this morning. "I care about Josh." She said shortly.

Riley's eyes narrowed. "You care about Josh?" She parroted. "Like you care about Lucas?"

"Low blow." Maya forced herself off of the bench, shoving her hand through her hair.

"You're good at that too," Riley spat.

Maya's eyes narrowed. She deserved that, she supposed. And maybe more. Her relationship with Lucas, while Riley approved, wasn't the healthiest for anyone. In hindsight, it was apparent that there was more than one aspect that was one-sided. She understood that now, just as she understood that the fact that Lucas was still in her life, still such an important part, was a gift in and of itself.

If it were anyone else sitting in front of her, Maya probably would have fought back. She'd always been really good about giving sass for sass. Some of it was even intentional.

But she'd deserved this. She'd spent entire year hiding a part of her life, her feelings, from her best friend. Maya fully understood that she deserved everything that Riley decided to dish out. "Yeah," she huffed, still not entirely sure of her voice. "I guess I am."

Silence prevailed, and Maya took a minute to run her hands over her face, breathing into her open palms.

"How long?"

Maya blinked at the question, not entirely understanding.

Riley sat straighter, arms crossed over her chest. "How long have you been _seeing_ him?"

It was heavier than Maya thought it would be; the rest of the question that hung in the air. _How long have you been lying to me?_ Maya knew that there was no way the answer was going to pacify her.

It only took a second for Maya to rule out lying.

In her own mind, they had only officially been together since the last night of finals last December. Since the night Josh had convinced her to stay with him and let him take her out the next morning. Twelve months wasn't absolutely horrible, especially once you factor in that they had only had the moniker of 'together' since October. An argument could even be made for her to be able to say it was a quarter of that.

But she'd spent enough time lying. There was so much that Maya hadn't been able to say, stories and anecdotes that Riley deserved to be told.

After all, how many times could Maya say she was truly happy with her life?

"Almost fifteen months." The three syllables tore themselves from between clenched teeth. Maya knew before turning around that Riley was officially livid. "Since the Halloween before last."

Her best friend was quiet for far too long. Maya finally turned around to face her, the indignant frustration apparent on her face. Riley blew a breath out of her mouth, the action visible. "Holy shit."

 _It_ _'_ _s okay_. Maya repeated to herself over and over. _You knew she was going to be mad. She_ _'_ _s allowed to be mad._

"Fifteen months," Riley muttered, more to herself than back to Maya. "Four hundred and twenty days." She pulled her braid over her shoulder and picked at the ends. "You've been lying to me for almost fifteen freaking months!"

"No one has lied to you." The blonde shot out quickly. It was probably the wrong argument to take on at the moment, but it was the most prominent. "We may have left a lot of things out, and allowed you to draw your own conclusions, but no one ever lied to you." She swallowed harshly, "I promise."

"You're gonna have to forgive me," Riley spat back. "I'm not sure I'm inclined to believe in promises right now. And a lie of omission is still a lie. You know that better than anyone."

And the knife in her gut twisted just a little bit more.

"Who all knows?"

Again, Maya was inclined to lie. If for no other reason than to allow her best friend's anger to be directed where it should be. "The shorter list would be to name those that don't." Her eyes dropped to the concrete. She knew the look that was about to cross Riley's eyes, and she had no desire to watch it change.

"My parents?" Maya still didn't look up, choosing instead to nod. "Shawn?" Maya repeated the gesture. "My grandparents?" Nod. "Lucas? Farkle? Zay?" For every name Riley called out, Maya dipped her head. And for every dip of the head, Riley got louder. " _Everyone_ has been lying to me for more than a year?!"

"No!" Maya found her voice, and the courage to finally look up. "Lucas was the only one who knew from the beginning, everyone else kind of figured it out on their own." She couldn't help the snort that came with the memory of their fathers. "Except Shawn and your parents, that was one hundred percent poor timing." Riley's head twitched as she tried to follow along. "And every single one of them left it up to me to tell you." Maya took the blame head on. "Even Josh. He wanted to tell you that first Christmas after we got together, but I wouldn't let him."

Something seemed to click in Riley. The anger didn't subside, but she seemed to rein it in enough to ask, "You wouldn't let him? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Another grunt and it was Riley's turn to stand. "I was okay with you and Lucas, I'm sure I could have found it in me to be okay with whatever the hell this is with Josh."

"It's not the same!" She wasn't sure which part of her brain kicked in for those words. Riley just blinked down at her. "You can't compare Lucas and my arrangement with what I have with Josh." The brunette crossed her arms over her chest, her own thoughts apparent across her face. "It probably was in the beginning." She bit her lip as she cursed. "I mean, it definitely was in the beginning. I've never had a constant other than you, and Josh said he wasn't looking for an attachment." She barely got out her next breath. "Of course, back then I was a stubborn commitment-phobe, and he pretty much let me do whatever I wanted because he was already in love with me. But that doesn't mean that the way I handled it was right." She completely missed the quirk of her best friend's brow at the admittance that she understood Josh's feelings. Maya was too busy trying to wrap her mind around where she was trying to go with her ramble. "And it took me months to admit that it was real. Literally, months."

Riley dropped to the bench again, her anger no longer seething. "Okay."

"I'm sorry." Was there no end to the ramble? When blinking back her tears didn't help, Maya just plainly wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I am so sorry." She made it the five steps to the bench and plopped herself down next to her best friend. "I didn't mean to hide it from you -well I did. That part was deliberate- But I didn't do it to hurt you." She couldn't see Riley's face anymore, so she just kept going. "You are my best friend, my human diary, and my other half. You mean the _world_ to me, and I didn't think it would last as long it has, and I didn't want you to be hurt when it fell apart."

Something finally fully clicked inside Riley. "Why would I be hurt?"

"I'm not family." When Riley's mouth opened, Maya's hand came up. "I'm not blood," she corrected. "And yes, you call me your sister, and you've been here for me no matter what, but I'm not _really_ family." She swiped at her eyes again. "I always thought that what Josh and I have won't last. I'm still not entirely convinced, and your uncle can be very persuasive. It's not because we're not going to try. I want to. I _am_ trying. But I'm me, and we both know that I don't get to hold onto a good thing for very long." The feeling that had taken root in her gut that morning shifted, the urge to reach out and hold onto what she did have getting stronger. "And when it does -whether we want it to or not- you're going to have to pick a side. I don't want you to have to give up on family. That was a choice I didn't want you to have to make."

There was no sound. No rebuttal. It took whole minutes before Maya looked up at the face of her best friend. "Did you also come up with a plan to convince about fifteen people to forget that you and Josh had been a couple?"

Her laugh was nothing more than breath forced from her lungs. "You know, that's one of the first things Josh brought up when we had our first actual conversation about this too?" Riley's smile led to her own. "He said that he didn't think I was that good."

"Oh, you are," Riley admitted sardonically. "That's probably the worst part."

"It's not the same," Maya repeated. "I'll swear on anything you want." She held out the hand that sported her friendship ring. "This is as close to an actual relationship as I've ever gotten." The wind picked up and the brunette turned her face toward it. "And I want this."

She was no longer able to read the brown eyes in front of her. There wasn't any more anger, that she knew. But she couldn't recognize what was. "Farkle's birthday." She said at last. " _This_ is the conversation we should have had on the porch."

"Earlier than that." Maya agreed. "Lucas slept alone in our rooms in Italy."

Maya had prided herself on the fact that for the bulk of their lives, Riley had been an open book. It was a skill that had gotten them through quite a few problems over the years. It had definitely been what had allowed Maya to keep her life with Josh hidden all this time. She watched as pieces clicked into place, the little things that they had taken for granted were now thought about and analyzed.

But other than that, Riley's face was impossibly blank.

There was a small part of Maya that had hoped that she'd managed to hold onto at least a part of their friendship. Yes, she'd snuck around, and she'd omitted so many things. But she'd never been perfect. And she'd done it to protect Riley. She'd done it to protect herself.

"Is there anything else you haven't told me? Any more lies you want to admit to?"

Maya's head twitched, this time shaking. "An almost fifteen-month secret relationship with the member of your family I've been in love with since I was fourteen is pretty much it."

Riley's head popped up, her eyes as wide as saucers. "You're in love with him?"

"I don't want to be." The blonde admitted with a sniffle. "Because it's awkward and terrifying, and this is the least in control I think I've ever been."

"Does Josh know?"

The laugh was back; harsh and uneven. "I think so." That wasn't entirely the truth. Maya more than thought so, but she couldn't prove it, so it wasn't worth mentioning. "He's the only one that says it." Another wet chuckle and Maya finally hiccupped. "And I'm gonna have to tell you all about what happened the first time he did."

Riley laughed along with her, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "It didn't go well?"

"Not for him." Maya pulled back a touch. "You're supposed to be mad at me."

Riley nodded. "Oh, I am." She assured the older girl, smile firmly in place. "For hiding fourteen months of your life, for-" Riley's eyes shut as she groped for the words. "Lying to me about what feels like everything. For depriving me of getting to watch you fall for someone." Her hand came up again. "But not for this." And then Riley reached out again.

There wasn't a measurement of time for how long they were attached to each other. Both of them were crying now, neither actually saying anything as they muttered to each other. The fact that it was almost twenty degrees outside -it had snowed two days prior- and that there was a roomful of friends and family waiting for their return didn't faze them at all.

And then Riley's phone buzzed.

She would have ignored it. After all, it's not like none of those people in her living room couldn't figure out why it was that they had left to begin with. But then Maya's phone started humming the Imperial March.

"You think they've started dinner?" Riley laughed as she leaned back just enough to liberate the device from her peacoat.

Shawn's text tone started again, and Maya sighed. "And Cory is about three minutes away from 'find my phone' stalking you." She dropped her thumb to the power button to watch her pseudo-fathers messages flash over her screen. "Upside, Shawn said to grab a cab and he'd pay for it. So, we can save ourselves from the freezing walk home."

"Why can't Shawn be my dad?" Riley wrapped her arm around Maya, both of them using the other to hoist themselves to their feet.

"No." Maya's voice was firm, skipping to the end of the concrete. "You get the perfect family." She let Riley brace herself, arm coming up to hail the next yellow cab to pass them. "The cool dad stays mine." The vehicle slowed to a stop, and Riley's eyebrows rose. "And whatever thought just popped into your head has to wait until I've had copious amounts of Christmas wine." She popped her best friend on the rear as Riley opened the door. "Now scoot."

Both tables were set up when the girls arrived back at the townhouse. Maya wasn't sure who to thank for the fact that their plates had been filled, but she decided not to spend too much time on it. She also did her best to ignore the small bit of tension that arose when Riley brushed past her to go grab a warm sweater from her room. They would work through it, Maya reminded herself as she took an extra minute to slip off her jacket and pull her scarf from around her neck.

She completely missed Josh sliding up behind her, jumping slightly when he slid his hands over her hips. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Maya breathed out, not even hesitating to twist in his arms and curl hers around his neck. She'd worn her Keds today, so Josh had to stoop so she could hug him fully, but he didn't seem to care. "I mean, it didn't completely suck."

There was something he was holding back. Maya could see it dance in his eyes as he pressed his lips to her temple. "Come on," he decided against it, it seemed. "I made sure you got the last of the moscato."

"You _do_ love me." Maya quipped, flipping a smile back on her face and running her pinky fingers under her eyes to get rid of any smudged makeup.

Riley joined them a moment later, slipping into the chair directly across from them, Auggie on one side and Eric on the other. "Oh, Uncle Josh?" She speared a green bean with her fork and grinned when he glanced over his beer. "I just sent out a group text." Josh took the announcement in stride, nodding along even though he had no idea where Riley was going with this. "You're hosting movie night tonight." She chomped down on the vegetable eagerly. "And I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch."

* * *

At quarter to six, the fun truly started.

Josh had had the cab loaded with his and Maya's presents while the girls packed an overnight bag and Riley changed into something a bit comfier. Plans for Boxing Day shopping were confirmed and Josh managed to get them across town in a half the time he originally expected it would take. Maya giggled the entire time he relayed the undertaking to Austin when his former roommate called to wish them a Merry Christmas, and, of course, ask for someone to swing by his apartment and make sure his cat was fed because he was staying out west for one more day.

The two geniuses arrived just before seven, Zay in tow, and Will three cars behind them. Lou had been given the holiday off since he'd opted to work on Thanksgiving, and so Norrington had been tasked with helping them carry a folding table from the car and all of the gourmet junk food that Farkle's mother had instructed the head housekeeper to procure for the event. Will and Al had brought the beverages -his parents deciding that none of them were stupid children, and if they had decided they were going to drink, Josh probably had some in his fridge anyway- and what Zay excitedly referred to as 'Dinner: Part Deux'.

There had been a genuine argument over which movie to start out with. For the first time since the tradition began, Maya had sided with Riley, and It's A Wonderful Life was dutifully ignored by all but the brunette for the first hundred and twenty-nine minutes. She had overruled them all a second time with August Rush before a rousing debate governed that Die Hard _was_ actually a Christmas movie, and it was submitted for everyone's viewing pleasure.

That didn't stop Zay from excusing himself shortly after midnight muttering vaguely that he had 'plans'. Maya and Lucas shared a look over the top of Riley's head, but neither of them vocalized their suspicions as to what the younger man could possibly have remembered that he needed to do just before one in the morning.

Farkle and Isadora were next, the shorter genius already asleep on her fiancé's shoulder when Farkle decided that they were done. He'd gotten them a suite at the Palace for the evening -not that his parents weren't understanding, but his siblings were still impressionable, and there were things that no one wanted to explain to the twins until they were older- and a quick text confirmed that Norrington was downstairs waiting for them.

They went through another twenty minutes of silence before Riley finally groaned. "I hate this."

She was staring straight at the chaise, where Maya had appropriated the open space on Josh's lap, and the second she realized that they were the focal point of her best friend's gaze, she flushed and dropped her feet to the floor.

"Sorry," she stuttered. Josh slid his hand up her spine, not bothering to stop her retreat. Things were bound to be awkward for a while. They would have to figure out how to settle into their new normal.

Lip quirking, Riley frantically shook her head. "Not _that_." She waved the hand holding her hot chocolate back and forth between them. " _This_." The mug gestured to the room as a whole. Maya shifted in Josh's lap, quirking her eyebrow at her best friend. She had left her powers of reading Riley's mind in their hiding place since they had returned from the arch, more for her own sanity because the brunette had been unpredictable over the last few hours. Sensing the shift, Riley pulled her feet from Will's lap, curling them underneath herself. "You know every piece of my romantic history." She clarified. "I know," she paused, lips scrunching. "The bulk of-" A non-committal sigh and a shrug in Lucas's direction allowed for her next thought. "But I know exactly _none_ of _this_." Again, her mug moved towards the chaise.

Josh shifted on his own, turning to face his niece more fully. Maya went along for the ride, readjusting her feet so she could lean her head against his shoulder. The older man coughed. "What do you want to know?"

"Maya says you've been together for about fifteen months." She started cautiously. It wasn't that she thought she'd heard her best friend wrong, Riley just wasn't sure of what terminology Maya used.

"Has it been that long?" Josh's lips scrunched as he did the math. She was pretty sure that however he was adding days, he only made it to twelve months. He shook his head as he dropped it to her shoulder. "Were you going by the twelfth or the twenty-first?"

And that turned Riley to her best friend. "But you said you two got together on Halloween?"

"First Kiss." Josh corrected absently, his free hand settling in her hair. Maya tried very hard not to be impressed that he had managed to pull the dates out of his head of their other two firsts. "I wasn't allowed to take her out on an actual date until the weekend before Christmas."

"That would have been the twenty-first." She said without thinking.

"Now ask Maya about the first time they slept together."

Will's eyes widened, his hand shooting out for his own drink. "Do I have to be here for this interrogation?"

Unblinking, Josh threw out. "The twelfth."

As Riley reached for her boyfriend, Maya's foot shot out to connect with Lucas's knee. "You're an asshole."

He didn't refute the charge. "It was five days after the last time you and I had sex." Lucas grinned at her instead. Josh stiffened slightly underneath her, this information obviously something she had forgotten to share with him. "I'm allowed to be dickish."

"New Haven." It seemed to come back to Josh in a jolt, and Maya nodded carefully in confirmation. She leaned back into him gently. "Riley's birthday?"

Maya shrugged. "Sometimes friends kiss," she offered meekly.

"You're never allowed to use those three words in conjunction again." He demanded softly. Josh didn't wait for Maya to acquiesce, tilting her face with his palm and bringing their lips together. She hummed into his mouth, enjoying the fact that she didn't have to pretend otherwise anymore.

Riley watched with careful eyes. Her smile was enigmatic, and Maya was just on the right side of buzzed -curled up in the lap of man she finally admitted she loved- that she didn't really bother to care about reading too much into it. "So, first came the kiss," she dropped her mug to her lap to free up both hands. "Then came sex, and _then_ you two dated?"

"It was just the one date," Josh informed the room while Maya muttered to herself that she always seemed to be doing things in the wrong order. "At least until recently." Riley twisted to get a better look at the couple on the chaise. Will stood to grab another drink. Lucas held up his beer bottle in an effort to get a new one without getting up himself. "I took her to the Brooklyn Flea for some Christmas shopping, we made Chinese dumplings at Haven's Kitchen, and then I took her to the butterfly vivarium at MNH."

Riley swooned. "And then?"

"Then your dad and Shawn brought you back early and dinner plans suddenly involved the entire family," Maya laughed. "Poor Josh didn't even get thanked for his efforts." It had been an afternoon for the books, that was for sure. And while she's never really allowed him a second date of that caliber, she wouldn't be opposed if he tried to force it on her.

The smile Josh threw at her before his lips descended on her shoulder told Maya that she didn't have to tell him anything.

The brunette didn't seem satisfied though. "So," she turned to the other side of the living area. "How did you find out about this?" She was pointing the lip of her mug at Lucas, and the Texan groaned harshly. There wasn't a single person in the room that didn't hear a four-letter word in place of the three she started with.

"November first, last year" His eyes locked with the only other blonde in the room, and Maya snorted her embarrassment as Lucas grinned. "I'm pretty sure the text message read 'I think I kissed Josh last night."

Another flush, this one hidden in the crook of Josh's neck while he openly laughed at her. "Isn't that the kind of thing you're supposed to remember?" He asked while trying to stop his chest from shaking.

"That's what I asked her!" Lucas's hands clapped together.

"You're both horrible people," Maya muttered into her boyfriend's collarbone.

Lucas's hands shot up in defense. "Hey! I tried to get you to call Riley!" He reminded her with conviction. "You were all 'I don't want to tell her that I jumped her uncle'."

The blonde rose to the bait, sitting forward and pointing her own bottle across the room. "That is _not_ what I said!" She announced harshly. If memory served -and it probably did, after all, Maya almost never misspoke- the word in question had been 'molested'. Not that she was actually going to admit that aloud.

"And then I get two _glorious_ weekends before I wake up to five missed calls and two incredibly demanding voicemails commanding that I call her back." Lucas's eyes rolled at Maya and Riley giggled. "I didn't need a neon sign to tell me what I was walking into when I finally responded."

The floor could swallow her up at any time now.

Seriously. Maya would have absolutely no problem with curling up into a ball and not having the face the mortified confusion on her best friend's face.

But Josh was poking her in the side, sharing a laugh with her closest male friend over the idiosyncrasy that made up her life. And she was Maya Hart. Embarrassment wasn't in her DNA.

"I just saw them making out on a street corner." Will added as he swapped out his girlfriend's empty cocoa mug for a new one. Riley's eyes widened and he shrugged. "Autumn and I were going to dinner, they were leaving the restaurant." His laugh was nervous, and Maya wondered if he knew that Josh had told him they had discussed it. "I was going to say 'hi' but there was this thing with a street lamp."

Maya was pretty amazed that Riley hadn't given herself whiplash. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Pumpkin." She reprimanded with a laugh. "It was just a kiss."

"Everything improper happened after we got home," Josh added with a grin.

Riley's eyes darkened as she digested his sentence. Maya briefly wondered if Riley's issue had been the fact that Josh referred to the apartment as 'home'. Had she told Riley that she'd moved in while they spoke at the arch?

She's pretty sure Josh noticed it too. The hand on her lower back froze, and then his thumb was slipping back and forth in the gap between her jeans and her skin. "Why don't you and Ri go ahead and take over the bedroom." He suggested with a nudge.

Turning her back to the room, Maya shook her head. "Are you sure? This isn't just my story to tell."

"It's not," he agreed. Her body was physically shifted forward as he readjusted himself. When she was settled, Maya was pulled back into the crook of his arm. "But there are most likely some things that Riley would probably prefer to hear without her uncle three feet away from her." When Maya's mouth opened to protest, he placed a finger to her lips. "I don't think it matters that said uncle is the subject in question."

Riley wasted no time in bouncing herself off of the couch. She planted a swift kiss on Will's lips, head tilted backward at what had to be an uncomfortable angle. She demanded that he let her know before he left for the night -she wanted a proper goodbye kiss, damn it- and then rounded on the bedroom.

Maya and Josh's kiss lingered until someone -probably Lucas- unmuted the television. Maya pulled away to the sound of gunfire.

"I love you." He reminded her. "Not go enjoy your slumber party."

Her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Those three words from earlier bubbling onto her tongue. "You don't have any of your stuff out here." She said instead.

"I'll come grab what I need when I kick these two out," Josh promised. "Just save me a pillow."

Maya should have been paying more attention when she wandered into the bedroom. It would have been a better way not to slam full force into her best friend. Riley was about two feet from the foot of the bed, hands on her hips as she surveyed the room.

It hadn't changed that much since they moved Josh in back in June. Other than a few new pieces of art on the wall -Josh's Christmas present beside the free-standing mirror, and the couple against the backdrop of Saint Peters that he bought for her in Italy between the closet and the bathroom door- and how the dresser had obviously been shifted four feet away from the outside wall to make room for her dressing table, it was pretty much the same. She'd even spent the entire weekend after the table had been moved stripping the white paint and restaining the piece so it would match the rest of the rustic wood and industrial trim.

Maya supposed that there was an upside to the fact that she had helped Josh choose every single piece that had gone into the apartment when he started furnishing it.

And while she watched Riley gape at the four walls, specifically the left side of the bed where she seemed to have exploded all over the nightstand, Maya started to question whether or not it had been a good idea to bring Riley into this part of her life after all.

"You didn't take a dorm assignment last semester."

Maya skirted her best friend carefully, dropping her phone onto the wireless charger on her side of the bed. Riley still hadn't moved, and Maya shook it off, moving to the other side so she could unplug the charger for Josh's Samsung and drop it on the footboard. They would undoubtedly still be awake when Josh decided to turn in, but she didn't want to risk him having to fight cords in the dark.

"I did not."

Riley swallowed that bit of information with a nod. "How long have you lived there?"

"Officially?" Maya slid the door shut before pulling her sweater over her head. Riley had been sensible enough to put on sleep appropriate clothing before they had ventured away from the Matthews family Christmas. Maya had kept her own clothes out of respect for everyone there, but if it was just her and her best friend, she wasn't going to hide anymore. "The beginning of the month." She shucked her tank top, then. Popping the top drawer of the dresser, Maya grabbed one of Josh's old shirts, pulling it over her head. "Give or take."

Riley still hadn't moved. She watched as Maya slid out of her jeans, dropping them in the hamper. "And unofficially?"

"End of October." Maya could have actually told her the exact date, but that probably would have prompted more questions than it answered. "I never really went home after Josh finally got me to talk to him again."

Riley launched herself at Josh's side of the bed. "That's a story I get to hear, right?"

Maya pulled a pair of shorts over her hips. "That's a story you get to hear," she concurred. She laughed to herself as she slid her watch off her wrist and dropped it onto the side dresser. Josh would make fun of her later when he put it away and then she freaked out because she couldn't find it -and yes, there was more than one occasion that she set herself up for that just because it made him smile- but that would be tomorrow's problem. "You get to hear _all_ of the stories." She corrected as she flopped onto the foot of the bed. "Where would you like me to start?"


End file.
